Solution for vehicle-to-everything (v2x) communication authorization in 5g system

ABSTRACT

Embodiments of Vehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications authentication are described. In some embodiments, a user equipment (UE) configured V2X communication and configured to operate within a fifth-generation system (5GS) and/or a combined 5GS and fourth-generation system (4GS) can encode a V2X capability indication in a request message for transmission to a network entity, such as a Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF). The V2X capability indication can indicate a capability of the UE for V2X communication over a PC5 reference point, and the request message can further include an indication of a Radio Access Technology (RAT). In some embodiments, the AMF can determine whether the UE is authorized to use the V2X communications over the PC5 reference point, and whether the UE is authorized to use the RAT indicated in the request message. Accordingly, the AMF can transmit a V2X services authorization to a next generation radio access network (NG-RAN).

PRIORITY CLAIM

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.16/140,081, filed Sep. 24, 2018, which claims priority to U.S.Provisional Patent Application Ser. No. 62/564,090, filed Sep. 27, 2017each of which is incorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

TECHNICAL FIELD

Embodiments pertain to wireless communications. Some embodiments relateto wireless networks including 3GPP (Third Generation PartnershipProject) networks, 3GPP LTE (Long Term Evolution) networks, 3GPP LTE-A(LTE Advanced) networks, and fifth-generation (5G) networks including 5Gnew radio (NR) networks, next-generation (NG) networks, and 5G-LTEnetworks. Other embodiments are directed to solutions forvehicle-to-everything (V2X) communications, including authorization ofV2X devices to use V2X communications over certain air interfaces insuch 5G networks.

BACKGROUND

With the growth of the Internet of Things (IoT), the number of connecteddevices accessing network resources is set to increase, in particularfor 5G networks. For example, connected vehicles are becoming animportant part of the connected life of consumers. With the growth ofautonomous driving and IoT on the horizon, V2X connectivity in vehicles,among vehicles, and between vehicles and infrastructure, as well assensors and “things” surrounding the cars, becomes more desirable. Animportant aspect of V2X communications is the establishment ofauthorization procedures for such V2X devices.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1A illustrates an architecture of a network in accordance with someembodiments;

FIG. 1B is a simplified diagram of an overall Next-Generation (NG)system architecture in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 1C illustrates an example MulteFire Neutral Host Network (NHN) 5Garchitecture in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 1D illustrates a functional split between next generation radioaccess network (NG-RAN) and the 5G Core network (5GC) in accordance withsome embodiments;

FIG. 1E illustrates a non-roaming 5G system architecture in accordancewith some embodiments;

FIG. 1F illustrates a non-roaming 5G system architecture in accordancewith some embodiments;

FIG. 1G illustrates an example Cellular Internet-of-Things (CIoT)network architecture in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 1H illustrates an example Service Capability Exposure Function(SCEF) in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 1I illustrates an example roaming architecture for SCEF inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 1J illustrates components of an exemplary NG Radio Access Network(RAN) architecture, in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 2 illustrates protocol functions that may be implemented in awireless communication device in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 3 illustrates example components of a device in accordance withsome embodiments;

FIG. 4 illustrates example interfaces of baseband circuitry inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a control plane protocol stack inaccordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 6 is an illustration of a user plane protocol stack in accordancewith some embodiments;

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating components, according to someexample embodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readableor computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readablestorage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein;

FIG. 8 illustrates a flow of a V2X operation, in accordance with someembodiments;

FIG. 9 illustrates generally a flow of example functionalities which canbe performed in a wireless architecture in connection with V2Xauthorization, in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 10 illustrates generally a flow of example functionalities whichcan be performed in a wireless architecture in connection with V2Xauthorization, in accordance with some embodiments;

FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of an example machine, in accordancewith some embodiments.

DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

The following description and the drawings sufficiently illustrateembodiments to enable those skilled in the art to practice them. Otherembodiments may incorporate structural, logical, electrical, process,and other changes. Portions and features of some embodiments may beincluded in, or substituted for, those of other embodiments. Embodimentsset forth in the claims encompass all available equivalents of thoseclaims.

With the growth of autonomous driving and IoT on the horizon, V2Xconnectivity is becoming increasingly more desirable. Authorization forV2X communications is an important concern for vehicles with V2Xconnectivity, vehicle-to-vehicle communications, andvehicle-to-infrastructure communications. For example, it is importantto have efficient V2X authentication methods within 5G and 5G/4Gcombined network architectures.

FIG. 1A illustrates an architecture of a system 100A of a network inaccordance with some embodiments. In some embodiments, the system 100Amay be configured for Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) operations, forexample, operations including indicating V2X capabilities of wirelessdevices (e.g., user equipment) and authorization of wireless devices touse V2X communications within specific communication interfaces orreference points. Embodiments may also include using such V2X capabilityand authorization information for handover procedures.

The system 100A, which may include a fourth-generation (4G) system(4GS), a fifth-generation (5G) system (5GS), or a combined 4GS and 5GS,is shown to include a user equipment (UE) 101 and a UE 102, for examplea UE configured for V2X communications. The UEs 101 and 102 may besmartphones (e.g., handheld touchscreen mobile computing devicesconnectable to one or more cellular networks) or any mobile ornon-mobile computing device, such as Personal Data Assistants (PDAs),pagers, laptop computers, desktop computers, wireless handsets, or anycomputing device including a wireless communications interface. In someembodiments, the UE 101 and 102 may be Internet-of-Things (IoT)-enableddevices, configured to communicate with a radio access network (RAN) 110and/or a core network (CN) 120, including but not limited to vehicles ordrones.

In some embodiments, any of the UEs 101 and 102 can comprise an Internetof Things (IoT) UE, which can comprise a network access layer designedfor low-power IoT applications utilizing short-lived UE connections. AnIoT UE can utilize technologies such as machine-to-machine (M2M) ormachine-type communications (MTC) for exchanging data with an MTC serveror device via a public land mobile network (PLMN), Proximity-BasedService (ProSe) or device-to-device (D2D) communication, sensornetworks, or IoT networks. The M2M or MTC exchange of data may be amachine-initiated exchange of data. An IoT network describesinterconnecting IoT UEs, which may include uniquely identifiableembedded computing devices (within the Internet infrastructure), withshort-lived connections. The IoT UEs may execute background applications(e.g., keep-alive messages, status updates, etc.) to facilitate theconnections of the IoT network.

The UEs 101 and 102 may be configured to connect, e.g., communicativelycouple, with a radio access network (RAN) 110—the RAN 110 may be, forexample, an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN), a NextGen RAN (NG-RAN), 5GRAN, or some other type of RAN. The UEs 101 and 102 utilize connections103 and 104, respectively, each of which comprises a physicalcommunications interface or layer (discussed in further detail below);in this example, the connections 103 and 104 are illustrated as an airinterface to enable communicative coupling, and can be consistent withcellular communications protocols, such as a Global System for MobileCommunications (GSM) protocol, a code-division multiple access (CDMA)network protocol, a Push-to-Talk (PTT) protocol, a PTT over Cellular(POC) protocol, a Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS)protocol, a 3GPP Long Term Evolution (LTE) protocol, a fifth generation(5G) protocol, a New Radio (NR) protocol, and the like.

In this embodiment, the UEs 101 and 102 may further directly exchangecommunication data via a ProSe interface 105. The ProSe interface 105may alternatively be referred to as a sidelink interface comprising oneor more logical channels, including but not limited to a PhysicalSidelink Control Channel (PSCCH), a Physical Sidelink Shared Channel(PSSCH), a Physical Sidelink Discovery Channel (PSDCH), and a PhysicalSidelink Broadcast Channel (PSBCH).

The UE 102 is shown to be configured to access an access point (AP) 106via connection 107. The connection 107 can comprise a local wirelessconnection, such as a connection consistent with any IEEE 802.11protocol, wherein the AP 106 would comprise a wireless fidelity (WiFi®)router. In this example, the AP 106 is shown to be connected to theInternet without connecting to the core network of the wireless system(described in further detail below).

The RAN 110 can include one or more access nodes (e.g., E-UTRA nodes)that enable the connections 103 and 104, for example, for V2Xoperations. These access nodes (ANs) can be referred to as base stations(BSs), NodeBs, evolved NodeBs (eNBs), next Generation NodeBs (e.g., gNB,ng-eNB), RAN nodes, and so forth, and can comprise ground stations(e.g., terrestrial access points) or satellite stations providingcoverage within a geographic area (e.g., a cell). In some embodiments,the communication nodes 111 and 112 can be transmission/reception points(TRPs). In instances when the communication nodes 111 and 112 are NodeBs(e.g., eNBs or gNBs), one or more TRPs can function within thecommunication cell of the NodeBs. In some embodiments, a NodeB can be aE-UTRA-NR (EN)-gNB (en-gNB) configured to support E-UTRA-NR DualConnectivity (EN-DC) (e.g., multi-RAT Dual Connectivity (MR-DC)), inwhich a UE may be connected to one eNB that acts as a master node (MN)and one en-gNB that acts as a secondary node (SN).

The RAN 110 may include one or more RAN nodes for providing macrocells,e.g., macro RAN node 111, and one or more RAN nodes for providingfemtocells or picocells (e.g., cells having smaller coverage areas,smaller user capacity, or higher bandwidth compared to macrocells),e.g., low power (LP) RAN node 112.

Any of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 can terminate the air interfaceprotocol and can be the first point of contact for the UEs 101 and 102.In some embodiments, any of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 can fulfillvarious logical functions for the RAN 110 including, but not limited to,radio network controller (RNC) functions such as radio bearermanagement, uplink and downlink dynamic radio resource management anddata packet scheduling, and mobility management. In an example, any ofthe nodes 111 and/or 112 can be a new generation node-B (gNB), anevolved node-B (eNB), or another type of RAN node.

In accordance with some embodiments, the UEs 101 and 102 can beconfigured to communicate using Orthogonal Frequency-DivisionMultiplexing (OFDM) communication signals with each other or with any ofthe RAN nodes 111 and 112 over a multicarrier communication channel inaccordance various communication techniques, such as, but not limitedto, an Orthogonal Frequency-Division Multiple Access (OFDMA)communication technique (e.g., for downlink communications) or a SingleCarrier Frequency Division Multiple Access (SC-FDMA) communicationtechnique (e.g., for uplink and ProSe or sidelink communications),although the scope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect.The OFDM signals can comprise a plurality of orthogonal subcarriers.

In some embodiments, a downlink resource grid can be used for downlinktransmissions from any of the RAN nodes 111 and 112 to the UEs 101 and102, while uplink transmissions can utilize similar techniques. The gridcan be a time-frequency grid, called a resource grid or time-frequencyresource grid, which is the physical resource in the downlink in eachslot. Such a time-frequency plane representation is a common practicefor OFDM systems, which makes it intuitive for radio resourceallocation. Each column and each row of the resource grid corresponds toone OFDM symbol and one OFDM subcarrier, respectively. The duration ofthe resource grid in the time domain corresponds to one slot in a radioframe. The smallest time-frequency unit in a resource grid is denoted asa resource element. Each resource grid may comprise a number of resourceblocks, which describe the mapping of certain physical channels toresource elements. Each resource block comprises a collection ofresource elements; in the frequency domain, this may represent thesmallest quantity of resources that currently can be allocated. Thereare several different physical downlink channels that are conveyed usingsuch resource blocks.

The physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) may carry user data andhigher-layer signaling to the UEs 101 and 102. The physical downlinkcontrol channel (PDCCH) may carry information about the transport formatand resource allocations related to the PDSCH channel, among otherthings. It may also inform the UEs 101 and 102 about the transportformat, resource allocation, and H-ARQ (Hybrid Automatic Repeat Request)information related to the uplink shared channel. Typically, downlinkscheduling (assigning control and shared channel resource blocks to theUE 102 within a cell) may be performed at any of the RAN nodes 111 and112 based on channel quality information fed back from any of the UEs101 and 102. The downlink resource assignment information may be sent onthe PDCCH used for (e.g., assigned to) each of the UEs 101 and 102.

The PDCCH may use control channel elements (CCEs) to convey the controlinformation. Before being mapped to resource elements, the PDCCHcomplex-valued symbols may first be organized into quadruplets, whichmay then be permuted using a sub-block interleaver for rate matching.Each PDCCH may be transmitted using one or more of these CCEs, whereeach CCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elementsknown as resource element groups (REGs). Four Quadrature Phase ShiftKeying (QPSK) symbols may be mapped to each REG. The PDCCH can betransmitted using one or more CCEs, depending on the size of thedownlink control information (DCI) and the channel condition. There canbe four or more different PDCCH formats defined in LTE with differentnumbers of CCEs (e.g., aggregation level, L=1, 2, 4, or 8).

Some embodiments may use concepts for resource allocation for controlchannel information that are an extension of the above-describedconcepts. For example, some embodiments may utilize an enhanced physicaldownlink control channel (EPDCCH) that uses PDSCH resources for controlinformation transmission. The EPDCCH may be transmitted using one ormore enhanced the control channel elements (ECCEs). Similar to above,each ECCE may correspond to nine sets of four physical resource elementsknown as an enhanced resource element groups (EREGs). An ECCE may haveother numbers of EREGs in some situations.

The RAN 110 is shown to be communicatively coupled to a core network(CN) 120 via an S1 interface 113. In embodiments, the CN 120 may be anevolved packet core (EPC) network, a NextGen Packet Core (NPC) network,or some other type of CN (e.g., as illustrated in reference to FIGS.1B-1J). In this embodiment the S1 interface 113 is split into two parts:the S1-U interface 114, which carries traffic data between the RAN nodes111 and 112 and the serving gateway (S-GW) 122, and the S1-mobilitymanagement entity (MME) interface 115, which is a signaling interfacebetween the RAN nodes 111 and 112 and MMES 121.

In this embodiment, the CN 120 comprises the MMES 121, the S-GW 122, thePacket Data Network (PDN) Gateway (P-GW) 123, and a home subscriberserver (HSS) 124. The MMES 121 may be similar in function to the controlplane of legacy Serving General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) SupportNodes (SGSN). The MMES 121 may manage mobility embodiments in accesssuch as gateway selection and tracking area list management. The HSS 124may comprise a database for network users, includingsubscription-related information to support the network entities'handling of communication sessions. The CN 120 may comprise one orseveral HSSs 124, depending on the number of mobile subscribers, on thecapacity of the equipment, on the organization of the network, etc. Forexample, the HSS 124 can provide support for routing/roaming,authentication, authorization, naming/addressing resolution, locationdependencies, etc.

The S-GW 122 may terminate the S1 interface 113 towards the RAN 110, androutes data packets between the RAN 110 and the CN 120. In addition, theS-GW 122 may be a local mobility anchor point for inter-RAN nodehandovers and also may provide an anchor for inter-3GPP mobility. Otherresponsibilities may include lawful intercept, charging, and some policyenforcement. The P-GW 123 may terminate an SGi interface toward a PDN.The P-GW 123 may route data packets between the EPC network 123 andexternal networks such as a network including the application server 130(alternatively referred to as application function (AF)) via an InternetProtocol (IP) interface 125. The P-GW 123 can also communicate data toother external networks 131A, which can include the Internet, IPmultimedia subsystem (IPS) network, and other networks. Generally, theapplication server 130 may be an element offering applications that useIP bearer resources with the core network (e.g., UMTS Packet Services(PS) domain, LTE PS data services, etc.). In this embodiment, the P-GW123 is shown to be communicatively coupled to an application server 130via an IP communications interface 125. The application server 130 canalso be configured to support one or more communication services (e.g.,Voice-over-Internet Protocol (VoIP) sessions, PTT sessions, groupcommunication sessions, social networking services, etc.) for the UEs101 and 102 via the CN 120.

The P-GW 123 may further be a node for policy enforcement and chargingdata collection. Policy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCRF) 126 isthe policy and charging control element of the CN 120. In a non-roamingscenario, there may be a single PCRF in the Home Public Land MobileNetwork (HPLMN) associated with a UE's Internet Protocol ConnectivityAccess Network (IP-CAN) session. In a roaming scenario with localbreakout of traffic, there may be two PCRFs associated with a UE'sIP-CAN session: a Home PCRF (H-PCRF) within a HPLMN and a Visited PCRF(V-PCRF) within a Visited Public Land Mobile Network (VPLMN). The PCRF126 may be communicatively coupled to the application server 130 via theP-GW 123. The application server 130 may signal the PCRF 126 to indicatea new service flow and select the appropriate Quality of Service (QoS)and charging parameters. The PCRF 126 may provision this rule into aPolicy and Charging Enforcement Function (PCEF) (not shown) with theappropriate traffic flow template (TFT) and QoS class of identifier(QCI), which commences the QoS and charging as specified by theapplication server 130.

In an example, any of the nodes 111 or 112 can be configured tocommunicate to the UEs 101, 102 (e.g., dynamically) by an antenna panelselection and a receive (Rx) beam selection that can be used by the UEfor data reception on a physical downlink shared channel (PDSCH) as wellas for channel state information reference signal (CSI-RS) measurementsand channel state information (CSI) calculation. In an example, any ofthe nodes 111 or 112 can be configured to communicate to the UEs 101,102 (e.g., dynamically) by an antenna panel selection and a transmit(Tx) beam selection that can be used by the UE for data transmission ona physical uplink shared channel (PUSCH) as well as for soundingreference signal (SRS) transmission.

In some embodiments, the communication network 100B can be an IoTnetwork. One of the current enablers of IoT is the narrowband-IoT(NB-IoT). NB-IoT has objectives such as coverage extension, UEcomplexity reduction, long battery lifetime, and backward compatibilitywith the LTE network. In addition, NB-IoT aims to offer deploymentflexibility allowing an operator to introduce NB-IoT using a smallportion of its existing available spectrum, and operate in one of thefollowing three modalities: (a) standalone deployment (the networkoperates in re-farmed GSM spectrum); (b) in-band deployment (the networkoperates within the LTE channel); and (c) guard-band deployment (thenetwork operates in the guard band of legacy LTE channels). In someembodiments, such as with further enhanced NB-IoT (FeNB-IoT), supportfor NB-IoT in small cells can be provided (e.g., in microcell, picocellor femtocell deployments). One of the challenges NB-IoT systems face forsmall cell support is the UL/DL link imbalance, where for small cellsthe base stations have lower power available compared to macro-cells,and, consequently, the DL coverage can be affected and/or reduced. Inaddition, some NB-IoT UEs can be configured to transmit at maximum powerif repetitions are used for UL transmission. This may result in largeinter-cell interference in dense small cell deployments.

FIG. 1B illustrates an exemplary Next Generation (NG) systemarchitecture 100B in accordance with some embodiments. The system 100Bmay include a fourth-generation (4G) system (4GS), a fifth-generation(5G) system (5GS), or a combined 4GS and 5GS. Referring to FIG. 1B, theNG system architecture 100B includes NG-RAN 110 and a 5G network core(5GC) 120. The NG-RAN 110 can include a plurality of NG-RAN nodes, forexample, gNBs 128A and 128B, and NG-eNBs 130A and 130B. The gNBs128A/128B and the NG-eNBs 130A/130B can be communicatively coupled tothe UE 102 via, for example, an N1 interface. The core network 120(e.g., a 5G core network or 5GC) can include an access and mobilitymanagement function (AMF) 132 and/or a user plane function (UPF) 134.The AMF 132 and the UPF 134 can be communicatively coupled to the gNBs128A/128B and the NG-eNBs 130A/130B via NG interfaces. Morespecifically, in some embodiments, the gNBs 128A/128B and the NG-eNBs130A/130B can be connected to the AMF 132 by NG-C interfaces, and to theUPF 134 by NG-U interfaces. The gNBs 128A/128B and the NG-eNBs 130A/130Bcan be coupled to each other via Xn interfaces.

In some embodiments, a gNB 128 can include a node providing New Radio(NR) user plane and control plane protocol termination towards the UE,and can be connected via the NG interface to the 5GC 120. In someembodiments, an NG-eNB 130 can include a node providing evolveduniversal terrestrial radio access (E-UTRA) user plane and control planeprotocol terminations towards the UE, and is connected via the NGinterface to the 5GC 120. In some embodiments, any of the gNBs 128A/128Band the NG-eNBs 130A/130B can be implemented as a base station (BS), amobile edge server, a small cell, a home eNB, although embodiments arenot so limited.

FIG. 1C illustrates an example MulteFire Neutral Host Network (NHN) 5Garchitecture 100C in accordance with some embodiments. Referring to FIG.1C, the MulteFire 5G architecture 100C can include the UE 102, NG-RAN110, and core network 120. The NG-RAN 110 can be a MulteFire NG-RAN (MFNG-RAN), and the core network 120 can be a MulteFire 5G neutral hostnetwork (NHN). In some embodiments, the MF NHN 120 can include a neutralhost AMF (NH AMF) 132, a NH SMF 136, a NH UPF 134, and a local AAA proxy151C. The AAA proxy 151C can provide connection to a 3GPP AAA server155C and a participating service provider AAA (PSP AAA) server 153C. TheNH-UPF 134 can provide a connection to a data network 157C.

The MF NG-RAN 120 can provide similar functionalities as an NG-RANoperating under a 3GPP specification. The NH-AMF 132 can be configuredto provide similar functionality as a AMF in a 3GPP 5G core network(e.g., as described in reference to FIG. 1D). The NH-SMF 136 can beconfigured to provide similar functionality as a SMF in a 3GPP 5G corenetwork (e.g., as described in reference to FIG. 1D). The NH-UPF 134 canbe configured to provide similar functionality as a UPF in a 3GPP 5Gcore network (e.g., as described in reference to FIG. 1D).

FIG. 1D illustrates a functional split between NG-RAN and the 5G Core(5GC) in accordance with some embodiments. FIG. 1D illustrates some ofthe functionalities the gNBs 128A/128B and the NG-eNBs 130A/130B canperform within the NG-RAN 110, as well as the AMF 132, the UPF 134, anda Session Management Function (SMF) 136 within the 5GC 120. In someembodiments, the 5GC 120 can provide access to the Internet 138 to oneor more devices via the NG-RAN 110.

In some embodiments, the gNBs 128A/128B and the NG-eNBs 130A/130B can beconfigured to host the following functions: functions for Radio ResourceManagement (e.g., inter-cell radio resource management 129A, radiobearer control 129B, connection mobility control 129C, radio admissioncontrol 129D, dynamic allocation of resources to UEs in both uplink anddownlink (scheduling) 129F); IP header compression; encryption andintegrity protection of data; selection of an AMF at UE attachment whenno routing to an AMF can be determined from the information provided bythe UE; routing of User Plane data towards UPF(s); routing of ControlPlane information towards AMF; connection setup and release; schedulingand transmission of paging messages (originated from the AMF);scheduling and transmission of system broadcast information (originatedfrom the AMF or Operation and Maintenance); measurement and measurementreporting configuration for mobility and scheduling 129E; transportlevel packet marking in the uplink; session management; support ofnetwork slicing; QoS flow management and mapping to data radio bearers;support of UEs in RRC_INACTIVE state; distribution function fornon-access stratum (NAS) messages; radio access network sharing; dualconnectivity; and tight interworking between NR and E-UTRA, to name afew.

In some embodiments, the AMF 132 can be configured to host the followingfunctions, for example: NAS signaling termination; NAS signalingsecurity 133A; access stratum (AS) security control; inter core network(CN) node signaling for mobility between 3GPP access networks; idlestate/mode mobility handling 133B, including mobile device, such as a UEreachability (e.g., control and execution of paging retransmission);registration area management; support of intra-system and inter-systemmobility; access authentication; access authorization including check ofroaming rights; mobility management control (subscription and policies);support of network slicing; and/or SMF selection, among other functions.

The UPF 134 can be configured to host the following functions, forexample: mobility anchoring 135A (e.g., anchor point forIntra-/Inter-RAT mobility); packet data unit (PDU) handling 135B (e.g.,external PDU session point of interconnect to data network); packetrouting and forwarding; packet inspection and user plane part of policyrule enforcement; traffic usage reporting; uplink classifier to supportrouting traffic flows to a data network; branching point to supportmulti-homed PDU session; QoS handling for user plane, e.g., packetfiltering, gating, UL/DL rate enforcement; uplink traffic verification(SDF to QoS flow mapping); and/or downlink packet buffering and downlinkdata notification triggering, among other functions. The SessionManagement function (SMF) 136 can be configured to host the followingfunctions, for example: session management; UE IP address allocation andmanagement 137A; selection and control of user plane function (UPF); PDUsession control 137B, including configuring traffic steering at UPF 134to route traffic to proper destination; control part of policyenforcement and QoS; and/or downlink data notification, among otherfunctions.

FIG. 1E and FIG. 1F illustrate a non-roaming 5G system architecture inaccordance with some embodiments. Referring to FIG. 1E, an exemplary 5Gsystem architecture 100E, of a 5G system, in a reference pointrepresentation is illustrated. More specifically, UE 102 can be incommunication with RAN 110 as well as one or more other 5G core (5GC)network entities. The 5G system architecture 100E includes a pluralityof network functions (NFs), such as access and mobility managementfunction (AMF) 132, session management function (SMF) 136, policycontrol function (PCF) 148, application function (AF) 150, user planefunction (UPF) 134, network slice selection function (NSSF) 142,authentication server function (AUSF) 144, and unified data management(UDM)/home subscriber server (HSS) 146. The UPF 134 can provide aconnection to a data network (DN) 152, which can include, for example,operator services, Internet access, or third-party services. The AMF canbe used to manage access control and mobility, and can also includenetwork slice selection functionality. The SMF can be configured to setup and manage various sessions according to a network policy. The UPFcan be deployed in one or more configurations according to a desiredservice type. The PCF can be configured to provide a policy frameworkusing network slicing, mobility management, and roaming (similar to PCRFin a 4G communication system). The UDM can be configured to storesubscriber profiles and data (similar to an HSS in a 4G communicationsystem).

In some embodiments, the 5G system architecture 100E includes an IPmultimedia subsystem (IMS) 168E as well as a plurality of IP multimediacore network subsystem entities, such as call session control functions(CSCFs). More specifically, the IMS 168E includes a CSCF, which can actas a proxy CSCF (P-CSCF) 162E, a serving CSCF (S-CSCF) 164E, anemergency CSCF (E-CSCF) (not illustrated in FIG. 1E), and/orinterrogating CSCF (I-CSCF) 166E. The P-CSCF 162E can be configured tobe the first contact point for the UE 102 within the IM subsystem (IMS)168E. The S-CSCF 164E can be configured to handle the session states inthe network, and the E-CSCF can be configured to handle certainembodiments of emergency sessions such as routing an emergency requestto the correct emergency center or public safety answering point (PSAP).The I-CSCF 166E can be configured to function as the contact pointwithin an operator's network for all IMS connections destined to asubscriber of that network operator, or a roaming subscriber currentlylocated within that network operator's service area. In someembodiments, the I-CSCF 166E can be connected to another IP multimedianetwork 170E, e.g. an IMS operated by a different network operator.

In some embodiments, the UDM/HSS 146 can be coupled to an applicationserver 160E, which can include a telephony application server (TAS) oranother application server (AS). The AS 160E can be coupled to the IMS168E via the S-CSCF 164E and/or the I-CSCF 166E. In some embodiments,the 5G system architecture 100E can use a unified access barringmechanism using one or more of the techniques described herein, whichaccess barring mechanism can be applicable for all RRC states of the UE102, such as RRC_IDLE, RRC_CONNECTED, and RRC_INACTIVE states.

In some embodiments, the 5G system architecture 100E can be configuredto use 5G access control mechanism techniques described herein, based onaccess categories that can be categorized by a minimum default set ofaccess categories, which are common across all networks. Thisfunctionality can allow the public land mobile network PLMN, such as avisited PLMN (VPLMN) to protect the network against different types ofregistration attempts, enable acceptable service for the roamingsubscriber and enable the VPLMN to control access attempts aiming atreceiving certain basic services. It also provides more options andflexibility to individual operators by providing a set of accesscategories, which can be configured and used in operator specific ways.

FIG. 1F illustrates an exemplary 5G system architecture 100F and aservice-based representation. System architecture 100F can besubstantially similar to (or the same as) system architecture 100E. Inaddition to the network entities illustrated in FIG. 1E, systemarchitecture 100F can also include a network exposure function (NEF) 154and a network repository function (NRF) 156. In some embodiments, 5Gsystem architectures can be service-based and interaction betweennetwork functions can be represented by corresponding point-to-pointreference points Ni (as illustrated in FIG. 1E) or as service-basedinterfaces (as illustrated in FIG. 1F).

A reference point representation shows that an interaction can existbetween corresponding NF services. For example, FIG. 1E illustrates thefollowing reference points: N1 (between the UE 102 and the AMF 132), N2(between the RAN 110 and the AMF 132), N3 (between the RAN 110 and theUPF 134), N4 (between the SMF 136 and the UPF 134), N5 (between the PCF148 and the AF 150), N6 (between the UPF 134 and the DN 152), N7(between the SMF 136 and the PCF 148), N8 (between the UDM 146 and theAMF 132), N9 (between two UPFs 134), N10 (between the UDM 146 and theSMF 136), N11 (between the AMF 132 and the SMF 136), N12 (between theAUSF 144 and the AMF 132), N13 (between the AUSF 144 and the UDM 146),N14 (between two AMFs 132), N15 (between the PCF 148 and the AMF 132 incase of a non-roaming scenario, or between the PCF 148 and a visitednetwork and AMF 132 in case of a roaming scenario), N16 (between twoSMFs; not illustrated in FIG. 1E), and N22 (between AMF 132 and NSSF142). Other reference point representations not shown in FIG. 1E canalso be used.

In some embodiments, as illustrated in FIG. 1F, service-basedrepresentations can be used to represent network functions within thecontrol plane that enable other authorized network functions to accesstheir services. In this regard, 5G system architecture 100F can includethe following service-based interfaces: Namf 158H (a service-basedinterface exhibited by the AMF 132), Nsmf 1581 (a service-basedinterface exhibited by the SMF 136), Nnef 158B (a service-basedinterface exhibited by the NEF 154), Npcf 158D (a service-basedinterface exhibited by the PCF 148), a Nudm 158E (a service-basedinterface exhibited by the UDM 146), Naf 158F (a service-based interfaceexhibited by the AF 150), Nnrf 158C (a service-based interface exhibitedby the NRF 156), Nnssf 158A (a service-based interface exhibited by theNSSF 142), Nausf 158G (a service-based interface exhibited by the AUSF144). Other service-based interfaces (e.g., Nudr, N5g-eir, and Nudsf)not shown in FIG. 1F can also be used.

FIG. 1G illustrates an exemplary consumer IoT (CIoT) networkarchitecture in accordance with some embodiments. Referring to FIG. 1G,the CIoT architecture 100G can include the UE 102 and the RAN 110coupled to a plurality of core network entities. In some embodiments,the UE 102 can be a machine-type communication (MTC) UE. The CIoTnetwork architecture 100G can further include a mobile servicesswitching center (MSC) 160, MME 121, a serving GPRS support note (SGSN)162, a S-GW 122, an IP-Short-Message-Gateway (IP-SM-GW) 164, a ShortMessage Service Service Center (SMS-SC)/gateway mobile service center(GMSC)/Interworking MSC (IWMSC) 166, MTC interworking function (MTC-IWF)170, a Service Capability Exposure Function (SCEF) 172, a gateway GPRSsupport node (GGSN)/Packet-GW (P-GW) 174, a charging data function(CDF)/charging gateway function (CGF) 176, a home subscriber server(HSS)/a home location register (HLR) 177, short message entities (SME)168, MTC authorization, authentication, and accounting (MTC AAA) server178, a service capability server (SCS) 180, and application servers (AS)182 and 184. In some embodiments, the SCEF 172 can be configured tosecurely expose services and capabilities provided by various 3GPPnetwork interfaces. The SCEF 172 can also provide means for thediscovery of the exposed services and capabilities, as well as access tonetwork capabilities through various network application programminginterfaces (e.g., API interfaces to the SCS 180).

FIG. 1G further illustrates various reference points between differentservers, functions, or communication nodes of the CIoT networkarchitecture 100G. Some example reference points related to MTC-IWF 170and SCEF 172 include the following: Tsms (a reference point used by anentity outside the 3GPP network to communicate with UEs used for MTC viaSMS), Tsp (a reference point used by a SCS to communicate with theMTC-IWF related control plane signaling), T4 (a reference point usedbetween MTC-IWF 170 and the SMS-SC 166 in the HPLMN), T6a (a referencepoint used between SCEF 172 and serving MME 121), T6b (a reference pointused between SCEF 172 and serving SGSN 162), T8 (a reference point usedbetween the SCEF 172 and the SCS/AS 180/182), S6m (a reference pointused by MTC-IWF 170 to interrogate HSS/HLR 177), S6n (a reference pointused by MTC-AAA server 178 to interrogate HSS/HLR 177), and S6t (areference point used between SCEF 172 and HSS/HLR 177).

In some embodiments, the CIoT UE 102 can be configured to communicatewith one or more entities within the CIoT architecture 100G via the RAN110 according to a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) protocol, and using one ormore reference points, such as a narrowband air interface, for example,based on one or more communication technologies, such as OrthogonalFrequency-Division Multiplexing (OFDM) technology. As used herein, theterm “CIoT UE” refers to a UE capable of CIoT optimizations, as part ofa CIoT communications architecture. In some embodiments, the NASprotocol can support a set of NAS messages for communication between theCIoT UE 102 and an Evolved Packet System (EPS) Mobile Management Entity(MME) 121 and SGSN 162. In some embodiments, the CIoT networkarchitecture 100F can include a packet data network, an operatornetwork, or a cloud service network, having, for example, among otherthings, a Service Capability Server (SCS) 180, an Application Server(AS) 182, or one or more other external servers or network components.

The RAN 110 can be coupled to the HSS/HLR servers 177 and the AAAservers 178 using one or more reference points including, for example,an air interface based on an Sha reference point, and configured toauthenticate/authorize CIoT UE 102 to access the CIoT network. The RAN110 can be coupled to the CIoT network architecture 100G using one ormore other reference points including, for example, an air interfacecorresponding to an SGi/Gi interface for 3GPP accesses. The RAN 110 canbe coupled to the SCEF 172 using, for example, an air interface based ona T6a/T6b reference point, for service capability exposure. In someembodiments, the SCEF 172 may act as an API GW towards a third-partyapplication server such as AS 182. The SCEF 172 can be coupled to theHSS/HLR 177 and MTC AAA 178 servers using an S6t reference point, andcan further expose an Application Programming Interface to networkcapabilities.

In certain examples, one or more of the CIoT devices disclosed herein,such as the CIoT UE 102, the CIoT RAN 110, etc., can include one or moreother non-CIoT devices, or non-CIoT devices acting as CIoT devices, orhaving functions of a CIoT device. For example, the CIoT UE 102 caninclude a smart phone, a tablet computer, or one or more otherelectronic device acting as a CIoT device for a specific function, whilehaving other additional functionality. In some embodiments, the RAN 110can include a CIoT enhanced Node B (CIoT eNB) 111 communicativelycoupled to the CIoT Access Network Gateway (CIoT GW) 195. In certainexamples, the RAN 110 can include multiple base stations (e.g., CIoTeNBs) connected to the CIoT GW 195, which can include MSC 160, MME 121,SGSN 162, and/or S-GW 122. In certain examples, the internalarchitecture of RAN 110 and CIoT GW 195 may be left to theimplementation and need not be standardized.

As used herein, the term “circuitry” may refer to, be part of, orinclude an Application Specific Integrated Circuit (ASIC) or otherspecial purpose circuit, an electronic circuit, a processor (shared,dedicated, or group), or memory (shared, dedicated, or group) executingone or more software or firmware programs, a combinational logiccircuit, or other suitable hardware components that provide thedescribed functionality. In some embodiments, the circuitry may beimplemented in, or functions associated with the circuitry may beimplemented by, one or more software or firmware modules. In someembodiments, circuitry may include logic, at least partially operable inhardware. In some embodiments, circuitry as well as modules disclosedherein may be implemented in combinations of hardware, software and/orfirmware. In some embodiments, functionality associated with a circuitrycan be distributed across more than one piece of hardware orsoftware/firmware module. In some embodiments, modules (as disclosedherein) may include logic, at least partially operable in hardware.Embodiments described herein may be implemented into a system using anysuitably configured hardware or software.

FIG. 1H illustrates an example Service Capability Exposure Function(SCEF) in accordance with some embodiments. Referring to FIG. 1H, theSCEF 172 can be configured to expose services and capabilities providedby 3GPP network interfaces to external third party service providerservers hosting various applications. In some embodiments, a 3GPPnetwork such as the CIoT architecture 100G, can expose the followingservices and capabilities: a home subscriber server (HSS) 116H, a policyand charging rules function (PCRF) 118H, a packet flow descriptionfunction (PFDF) 120H, a MME/SGSN 122H, a broadcast multicast servicecenter (BM-SC) 124H, a serving call server control function (S-CSCF)126H, a RAN congestion awareness function (RCAF) 128H, and one or moreother network entities 130H. The above-mentioned services andcapabilities of a 3GPP network can communicate with the SCEF 172 via oneor more interfaces as illustrated in FIG. 1H. The SCEF 172 can beconfigured to expose the 3GPP network services and capabilities to oneor more applications running on one or more service capability server(SCS)/application server (AS), such as SCS/AS 102H, 104H, . . . , 106H.Each of the SCS/AG 102H-106H can communicate with the SCEF 172 viaapplication programming interfaces (APIs) 108H, 110H, 112H, . . . ,114H, as seen in FIG. 1H.

FIG. 1I illustrates an example roaming architecture for SCEF inaccordance with some embodiments. Referring to FIG. 1I, the SCEF 172 canbe located in HPLMN 110I and can be configured to expose 3GPP networkservices and capabilities, such as 102I, . . . , 104I. In someembodiments, 3GPP network services and capabilities, such as 106I, . . ., 108I, can be located within VPLMN 1121. In this case, the 3GPP networkservices and capabilities within the VPLMN 1121 can be exposed to theSCEF 172 via an interworking SCEF (IWK-SCEF) 197 within the VPLMN 1121.

FIG. 1J illustrates an exemplary Next-Generation Radio Access Networkarchitecture, in accordance with some embodiments. The 5GC 120J, theNG-RAN 110J, and the gNBs 128J, in some embodiments, may be similar orthe same as the 5GC 120, the NG-RAN 110, and the gNBs 128A/128B of FIG.1B, respectively. In some embodiments, network elements of the NG-RAN110 may be split into central and distributed units, and differentcentral and distributed units, or components of the central anddistributed units, may be configured for performing different protocolfunctions. For example, different protocol functions of the protocollayers depicted in FIG. 2, FIG. 5, and FIG. 6.

In some embodiments, the gNB 128J can comprise or be split into one ormore of a gNB Central Unit (gNB-CU) 129J and a gNB Distributed Unit(gNB-DU) 130J. Additionally, the gNB 128J can comprise or be split intoone or more of a gNB-CU-Control Plane (gNB-CU-CP) 131J and a gNB-CU-UserPlane (gNB-CU-UP) 133J. The gNB-CU 129J is a logical node configured tohost the radio resource control layer (RRC), service data adaptationprotocol (SDAP) layer and packet data convergence protocol layer (PDCP)protocols of the gNB or RRC, and PDCP protocols of the E-UTRA-NR gNB(en-gNB) that controls the operation of one or more gNB-DUs. The gNB-DU130J is a logical node configured to host the radio link control layer(RLC), medium access control layer (MAC) and physical layer (PHY) layersof the gNB 128A/128B, 128J or en-gNB, and its operation is at leastpartly controlled by gNB-CU 129J. In some embodiments, one gNB-DU 130Jcan support one or multiple cells.

The gNB-CU 129J comprises a gNB-CU-Control Plane (gNB-CU-CP) 131J and agNB-CU-User Plane (gNB-CU-UP) 133J. The gNB-CU-CP 131J is a logical nodeconfigured to host the RRC and the control plane part of the PDCPprotocol of the gNB-CU 129J for an en-gNB or a gNB. The gNB-CU-UP 133Jis a logical node configured to host the user plane part of the PDCPprotocol of the gNB-CU 129J for an en-gNB, and the user plane part ofthe PDCP protocol and the SDAP protocol of the gNB-CU 129J for a gNB.

The gNB-CU 129J and the gNB-DU 130J can communicate via the F1 interfaceand the gNB 128J can communicate with the gNB-CU via the Xn-C interface.The gNB-CU-CP 131J and the gNB-CU-UP 133J can communicate via the E1interface. Additionally, the gNB-CU-CP 131J and the gNB-DU 130J cancommunicate via the F1-C interface, and the gNB-DU 130J and thegNB-CU-UP 133J can communicate via the F1-U interface.

In some embodiments, the gNB-CU 129J terminates the F1 interfaceconnected with the gNB-DU 130J, and in other embodiments, the gNB-DU130J terminates the F1 interface connected with the gNB-CU 129J. In someembodiments, the gNB-CU-CP 131J terminates the E1 interface connectedwith the gNB-CU-UP 133J and the F1-C interface connected with the gNB-DU130J. In some embodiments, the gNB-CU-UP 133J terminates the E1interface connected with the gNB-CU-CP 131J and the F1-U interfaceconnected with the gNB-DU 130J.

In some embodiments, the F1 interface is a point-to-point interfacebetween endpoints and supports the exchange of signalling informationbetween endpoints and data transmission to the respective endpoints. TheF1 interface can support control plane and user plane separation, andseparate the Radio Network Layer and the Transport Network Layer. Insome embodiments, the E1 interface is a point-to-point interface betweena gNB-CU-CP and a gNB-CU-UP and supports the exchange of signallinginformation between endpoints. The E1 interface can separate the RadioNetwork Layer and the Transport Network Layer, and in some embodiments,the E1 interface may be a control interface not used for user dataforwarding.

Referring to the NG-RAN 110J (e.g., 110 of FIG. 1B), the gNBs 128J ofthe NG-RAN 110J may communicate to the 5GC via the NG interfaces, andinterconnected to other gNBs via the Xn interface. In some embodiments,the gNBs 128J (e.g., 128A/128B) can be configured to support FDD mode,TDD mode or dual mode operation. In certain embodiments, for EN-DC, theS1-U interface and an X2 interface (e.g., X2-C interface) for a gNB,consisting of a gNB-CU and gNB-DUs, can terminate in the gNB-CU.

FIG. 2 illustrates protocol functions that may be implemented withinand/or by devices of a network architecture, in accordance with someembodiments. For example, such protocol functions may be implementedwithin wireless communication devices such as UEs and/or a BSs, and anyother network entities configured for V2X communications and/oroperations.

In some embodiments, protocol layers may include one or more of physicallayer (PHY) 210, medium access control layer (MAC) 220, radio linkcontrol layer (RLC) 230, packet data convergence protocol layer (PDCP)240, service data adaptation protocol (SDAP) layer 247, radio resourcecontrol layer (RRC) 255, and non-access stratum (NAS) layer 257, inaddition to other higher layer functions not illustrated. In someembodiments, the protocol layers may be implemented within and/or by anyof the network components of FIGS. 1A-1J, such as the gNBs (e.g.,128A/128B, 128J), and various layers of the protocol functions may beimplemented by one or more central or distributed units of the gNBs(e.g., gNB-CU 129J, gNB-DU 130J).

According to some embodiments, protocol layers may include one or moreservice access points that may provide communication between two or moreprotocol layers. According to some embodiments, PHY 210 may transmit andreceive physical layer signals 205 that may be received or transmittedrespectively by one or more other communication devices (e.g., UE 101,UE 102, device 300). According to some embodiments, physical layersignals 205 may comprise one or more physical channels.

According to some embodiments, an instance of PHY 210 may processrequests from and provide indications to an instance of MAC 220 via oneor more physical layer service access points (PHY-SAP) 215. According tosome embodiments, requests and indications communicated via PHY-SAP 215may comprise one or more transport channels. According to someembodiments, an instance of MAC 210 may process requests from andprovide indications to an instance of RLC 230 via one or more mediumaccess control service access points (MAC-SAP) 225. According to someembodiments, requests and indications communicated via MAC-SAP 225 maycomprise one or more logical channels.

According to some embodiments, an instance of RLC 230 may processrequests from and provide indications to an instance of PDCP 240 via oneor more radio link control service access points (RLC-SAP) 235.According to some embodiments, requests and indications communicated viaRLC-SAP 235 may comprise one or more RLC channels. According to someembodiments, an instance of PDCP 240 may process requests from andprovide indications to one or more of an instance of RRC 255 and one ormore instances of SDAP 247 via one or more packet data convergenceprotocol service access points (PDCP-SAP) 245. According to someembodiments, requests and indications communicated via PDCP-SAP 245 maycomprise one or more radio bearers.

According to some embodiments, an instance of SDAP 247 may processrequests from and provide indications to one or more higher layerprotocol entities via one or more service data adaptation protocolservice access points (SDAP-SAP) 249. According to some embodiments,requests and indications communicated via SDAP-SAP 249 may comprise oneor more quality of service (QoS) flows. According to some embodiments,RRC entity 255 may configure, via one or more management service accesspoints (M-SAP), embodiments of one or more protocol layers, which mayinclude one or more instances of PHY 210, MAC 220, RLC 230, PDCP 240 andSDAP 247. According to some embodiments, an instance of RRC may processrequests from and provide indications to one or more NAS entities viaone or more RRC service access points (RRC-SAP).

FIG. 3 illustrates example components of a device 300 in accordance withsome embodiments. For example, the device 300 may be a device configuredfor V2X communications and/or operations (e.g., UE 101, UE 102, UE 260,RAN Node 111/112).

In some embodiments, the device 300 may include application circuitry302, baseband circuitry 304, Radio Frequency (RF) circuitry 306,front-end module (FEM) circuitry 308, one or more antennas 310, andpower management circuitry (PMC) 312 coupled together at least as shown.The components of the illustrated device 300 may be included in a UE(e.g., UE 101, UE 102, UE 260) or a RAN node (e.g., Macro RAN node 111,LP RAN node 112, gNB 280). In some embodiments, the device 300 mayinclude less elements (e.g., a RAN node may not utilize applicationcircuitry 302, and instead may include a processor/controller to processIP data received from an EPC). In some embodiments, the device 300 mayinclude additional elements such as, for example, memory/storage,display, camera, sensor, or input/output (I/O) interface. In otherembodiments, the components described below may be included in more thanone device (e.g., said circuitries may be separately included in morethan one device for Cloud-RAN (C-RAN) implementations).

The application circuitry 302 may include one or more applicationprocessors. For example, the application circuitry 302 may includecircuitry such as, but not limited to, one or more single-core ormulti-core processors. The processor(s) may include any combination ofgeneral-purpose processors and dedicated processors (e.g., graphicsprocessors, application processors, etc.). The processors may be coupledwith or may include memory/storage and may be configured to executeinstructions stored in the memory/storage to enable various applicationsor operating systems to run on the device 300. In some embodiments,processors of application circuitry 302 may process IP data packetsreceived from an EPC.

The baseband circuitry 304 may include circuitry such as, but notlimited to, one or more single-core or multi-core processors. Thebaseband circuitry 304 may include one or more baseband processors orcontrol logic to process baseband signals received from a receive signalpath of the RF circuitry 306 and to generate baseband signals for atransmit signal path of the RF circuitry 306. Baseband processingcircuitry 304 may interface with the application circuitry 302 forgeneration and processing of the baseband signals and for controllingoperations of the RF circuitry 306. For example, in some embodiments,the baseband circuitry 304 may include a third generation (3G) basebandprocessor 304A, a fourth generation (4G) baseband processor 304B, afifth generation (5G) baseband processor 304C, or other basebandprocessor(s) 304D for other existing generations, generations indevelopment or to be developed in the future (e.g., second generation(2G), sixth generation (6G), etc.). The baseband circuitry 304 (e.g.,one or more of baseband processors 304A-D) may handle various radiocontrol functions that enable communication with one or more radionetworks via the RF circuitry 306.

In other embodiments, some or all of the functionality of basebandprocessors 304A-D may be included in modules stored in the memory 304Gand executed via a Central Processing Unit (CPU) 304E. The radio controlfunctions may include, but are not limited to, signalmodulation/demodulation, encoding/decoding, radio frequency shifting,etc. In some embodiments, modulation/demodulation circuitry of thebaseband circuitry 304 may include Fast-Fourier Transform (FFT),precoding, or constellation mapping/demapping functionality. In someembodiments, encoding/decoding circuitry of the baseband circuitry 304may include convolution, tail-biting convolution, turbo, Viterbi, or LowDensity Parity Check (LDPC) encoder/decoder functionality. Embodimentsof modulation/demodulation and encoder/decoder functionality are notlimited to these examples and may include other suitable functionalityin other embodiments.

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 304 may include one or moreaudio digital signal processor(s) (DSP) 304F. The audio DSP(s) 304F maybe include elements for compression/decompression and echo cancellationand may include other suitable processing elements in other embodiments.Components of the baseband circuitry may be suitably combined in asingle chip, a single chipset, or disposed on a same circuit board insome embodiments. In some embodiments, some or all of the constituentcomponents of the baseband circuitry 304 and the application circuitry302 may be implemented together such as, for example, on a system on achip (SOC).

In some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 304 may provide forcommunication compatible with one or more radio technologies. Forexample, in some embodiments, the baseband circuitry 304 may supportcommunication with an evolved universal terrestrial radio access network(EUTRAN) or other wireless metropolitan area networks (WMAN), a wirelesslocal area network (WLAN), a wireless personal area network (WPAN).Embodiments in which the baseband circuitry 304 is configured to supportradio communications of more than one wireless protocol may be referredto as multi-mode baseband circuitry.

RF circuitry 306 may enable communication with wireless networks usingmodulated electromagnetic radiation through a non-solid medium. Invarious embodiments, the RF circuitry 306 may include switches, filters,amplifiers, etc. to facilitate the communication with the wirelessnetwork. RF circuitry 306 may include a receive signal path which mayinclude circuitry to down-convert RF signals received from the FEMcircuitry 308 and provide baseband signals to the baseband circuitry304. RF circuitry 306 may also include a transmit signal path which mayinclude circuitry to up-convert baseband signals provided by thebaseband circuitry 304 and provide RF output signals to the FEMcircuitry 308 for transmission.

In some embodiments, the receive signal path of the RF circuitry 306 mayinclude mixer circuitry 306A, amplifier circuitry 306B and filtercircuitry 306C. In some embodiments, the transmit signal path of the RFcircuitry 306 may include filter circuitry 306C and mixer circuitry306A. RF circuitry 306 may also include synthesizer circuitry 306D forsynthesizing a frequency for use by the mixer circuitry 306A of thereceive signal path and the transmit signal path. In some embodiments,the mixer circuitry 306A of the receive signal path may be configured todown-convert RF signals received from the FEM circuitry 308 based on thesynthesized frequency provided by synthesizer circuitry 306D. Theamplifier circuitry 306B may be configured to amplify the down-convertedsignals and the filter circuitry 306C may be a low-pass filter (LPF) orband-pass filter (BPF) configured to remove unwanted signals from thedown-converted signals to generate output baseband signals. Outputbaseband signals may be provided to the baseband circuitry 304 forfurther processing. In some embodiments, the output baseband signals maybe zero-frequency baseband signals, although this is not a requirement.In some embodiments, mixer circuitry 306A of the receive signal path maycomprise passive mixers, although the scope of the embodiments is notlimited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 306A of the transmit signalpath may be configured to up-convert input baseband signals based on thesynthesized frequency provided by the synthesizer circuitry 306D togenerate RF output signals for the FEM circuitry 308. The basebandsignals may be provided by the baseband circuitry 304 and may befiltered by filter circuitry 306C.

In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry 306A of the receive signal pathand the mixer circuitry 306A of the transmit signal path may include twoor more mixers and may be arranged for quadrature downconversion andupconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixer circuitry306A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 306A of thetransmit signal path may include two or more mixers and may be arrangedfor image rejection (e.g., Hartley image rejection). In someembodiments, the mixer circuitry 306A of the receive signal path and themixer circuitry 306A may be arranged for direct downconversion anddirect upconversion, respectively. In some embodiments, the mixercircuitry 306A of the receive signal path and the mixer circuitry 306Aof the transmit signal path may be configured for super-heterodyneoperation.

In some embodiments, the output baseband signals and the input basebandsignals may be analog baseband signals, although the scope of theembodiments is not limited in this respect. In some alternateembodiments, the output baseband signals and the input baseband signalsmay be digital baseband signals. In these alternate embodiments, the RFcircuitry 306 may include analog-to-digital converter (ADC) anddigital-to-analog converter (DAC) circuitry and the baseband circuitry304 may include a digital baseband interface to communicate with the RFcircuitry 306.

In some dual-mode embodiments, a separate radio IC circuitry may beprovided for processing signals for each spectrum, although the scope ofthe embodiments is not limited in this respect.

In some embodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 306D may be afractional-N synthesizer or a fractional N/N+1 synthesizer, although thescope of the embodiments is not limited in this respect as other typesof frequency synthesizers may be suitable. For example, synthesizercircuitry 306D may be a delta-sigma synthesizer, a frequency multiplier,or a synthesizer comprising a phase-locked loop with a frequencydivider.

The synthesizer circuitry 306D may be configured to synthesize an outputfrequency for use by the mixer circuitry 306A of the RF circuitry 306based on a frequency input and a divider control input. In someembodiments, the synthesizer circuitry 306D may be a fractional N/N+1synthesizer.

In some embodiments, frequency input may be provided by a voltagecontrolled oscillator (VCO), although that is not a requirement. Dividercontrol input may be provided by either the baseband circuitry 304 orthe applications processor 302 depending on the desired outputfrequency. In some embodiments, a divider control input (e.g., N) may bedetermined from a look-up table based on a channel indicated by theapplications processor 302.

Synthesizer circuitry 306D of the RF circuitry 306 may include adivider, a delay-locked loop (DLL), a multiplexer and a phaseaccumulator. In some embodiments, the divider may be a dual modulusdivider (DMD) and the phase accumulator may be a digital phaseaccumulator (DPA). In some embodiments, the DMD may be configured todivide the input signal by either N or N+1 (e.g., based on a carry out)to provide a fractional division ratio. In some example embodiments, theDLL may include a set of cascaded, tunable, delay elements, a phasedetector, a charge pump and a D-type flip-flop. In these embodiments,the delay elements may be configured to break a VCO period up into Ndequal packets of phase, where Nd is the number of delay elements in thedelay line. In this way, the DLL provides negative feedback to helpensure that the total delay through the delay line is one VCO cycle.

In some embodiments, synthesizer circuitry 306D may be configured togenerate a carrier frequency as the output frequency, while in otherembodiments, the output frequency may be a multiple of the carrierfrequency (e.g., twice the carrier frequency, four times the carrierfrequency) and used in conjunction with quadrature generator and dividercircuitry to generate multiple signals at the carrier frequency withmultiple different phases with respect to each other. In someembodiments, the output frequency may be a LO frequency (f_(LO)). Insome embodiments, the RF circuitry 306 may include an IQ/polarconverter.

FEM circuitry 308 may include a receive signal path which may includecircuitry configured to operate on RF signals received from one or moreantennas 310, amplify the received signals and provide the amplifiedversions of the received signals to the RF circuitry 306 for furtherprocessing. FEM circuitry 308 may also include a transmit signal pathwhich may include circuitry configured to amplify signals fortransmission provided by the RF circuitry 306 for transmission by one ormore of the one or more antennas 310. In various embodiments, theamplification through the transmit or receive signal paths may be donesolely in the RF circuitry 306, solely in the FEM 308, or in both the RFcircuitry 306 and the FEM 308.

In some embodiments, the FEM circuitry 308 may include a TX/RX switch toswitch between transmit mode and receive mode operation. The FEMcircuitry may include a receive signal path and a transmit signal path.The receive signal path of the FEM circuitry may include an LNA toamplify received RF signals and provide the amplified received RFsignals as an output (e.g., to the RF circuitry 306). The transmitsignal path of the FEM circuitry 308 may include a power amplifier (PA)to amplify input RF signals (e.g., provided by RF circuitry 306), andone or more filters to generate RF signals for subsequent transmission(e.g., by one or more of the one or more antennas 310).

In some embodiments, the PMC 312 may manage power provided to thebaseband circuitry 304. In particular, the PMC 312 may controlpower-source selection, voltage scaling, battery charging, or DC-to-DCconversion. The PMC 312 may often be included when the device 300 iscapable of being powered by a battery, for example, when the device isincluded in a UE. The PMC 312 may increase the power conversionefficiency while providing desirable implementation size and heatdissipation characteristics.

While FIG. 3 shows the PMC 312 coupled only with the baseband circuitry304. However, in other embodiments, the PMC 312 may be additionally oralternatively coupled with, and perform similar power managementoperations for, other components such as, but not limited to,application circuitry 302, RF circuitry 306, or FEM 308.

In some embodiments, the PMC 312 may control, or otherwise be part of,various power saving mechanisms of the device 300. For example, if thedevice 300 is in an RRC_Connected state, where it is still connected tothe RAN node as it expects to receive traffic shortly, then it may entera state known as Discontinuous Reception Mode (DRX) after a period ofinactivity. During this state, the device 300 may power down for briefintervals of time and thus save power.

If there is no data traffic activity for an extended period of time,then the device 300 may transition off to an RRC_Idle state, where itdisconnects from the network and does not perform operations such aschannel quality feedback, handover, etc. The device 300 goes into a verylow power state and it performs paging where again it periodically wakesup to listen to the network and then powers down again. The device 300may not receive data in this state, in order to receive data, it musttransition back to RRC_Connected state.

An additional power saving mode may allow a device to be unavailable tothe network for periods longer than a paging interval (ranging fromseconds to a few hours). During this time, the device is totallyunreachable to the network and may power down completely. Any data sentduring this time incurs a large delay and it is assumed the delay isacceptable.

Processors of the application circuitry 302 and processors of thebaseband circuitry 304 may be used to execute elements of one or moreinstances of a protocol stack (e.g., protocol stack described withrespect to FIG. 2, FIG. 5, and/or FIG. 6). For example, processors ofthe baseband circuitry 304, alone or in combination, may be used executeLayer 3, Layer 2, or Layer 1 functionality, while processors of theapplication circuitry 304 may utilize data (e.g., packet data) receivedfrom these layers and further execute Layer 4 functionality (e.g.,transmission communication protocol (TCP) and user datagram protocol(UDP) layers). As referred to herein, Layer 3 may comprise a RRC layer(e.g., 255, 505). As referred to herein, Layer 2 may comprise a MAClayer (e.g., 220, 502), a RLC layer (e.g., 230, 503), and a PDCP layer(e.g., 240, 504). As referred to herein, Layer 1 may comprise a PHYlayer (e.g., 210, 501) of a UE/RAN node.

FIG. 4 illustrates example interfaces of baseband circuitry inaccordance with some embodiments. As discussed above, the basebandcircuitry 304 of FIG. 3 may comprise processors 304A-304E and a memory304G utilized by said processors. Each of the processors 304A-304E mayinclude a memory interface, 404A-404E, respectively, to send/receivedata to/from the memory 304G.

The baseband circuitry 304 may further include one or more interfaces tocommunicatively couple to other circuitries/devices, such as a memoryinterface 412 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from memoryexternal to the baseband circuitry 304), an application circuitryinterface 414 (e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from theapplication circuitry 302 of FIG. 3), an RF circuitry interface 416(e.g., an interface to send/receive data to/from RF circuitry 306 ofFIG. 3), a wireless hardware connectivity interface 418 (e.g., aninterface to send/receive data to/from Near Field Communication (NFC)components, Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi®components, and other communication components), and a power managementinterface 420 (e.g., an interface to send/receive power or controlsignals to/from the PMC 312).

FIG. 5 is an illustration of a control plane protocol stack inaccordance with some embodiments. In one embodiment, a control plane 500is shown as a communications protocol stack between the UE 102, the RANnode 128 (or alternatively, the RAN node 130), and the AMF 132.

The PHY layer 501 may in some embodiments transmit or receiveinformation used by the MAC layer 502 over one or more air interfaces.The PHY layer 501 may further perform link adaptation or adaptivemodulation and coding (AMC), power control, cell search (e.g., forinitial synchronization and handover purposes), and other measurementsused by higher layers, such as the RRC layer 505. The PHY layer 501 mayin some embodiments still further perform error detection on thetransport channels, forward error correction (FEC) coding/decoding ofthe transport channels, modulation/demodulation of physical channels,interleaving, rate matching, mapping onto physical channels, andMultiple Input Multiple Output (MIMO) antenna processing.

The MAC layer 502 may in some embodiments perform mapping betweenlogical channels and transport channels, multiplexing of MAC servicedata units (SDUs) from one or more logical channels onto transportblocks (TB) to be delivered to PHY via transport channels,de-multiplexing MAC SDUs to one or more logical channels from transportblocks (TB) delivered from the PHY via transport channels, multiplexingMAC SDUs onto TBs, scheduling information reporting, error correctionthrough hybrid automatic repeat request (HARD), and logical channelprioritization.

The RLC layer 503 may in some embodiments operate in a plurality ofmodes of operation, including: Transparent Mode (TM), UnacknowledgedMode (UM), and Acknowledged Mode (AM). The RLC layer 503 may executetransfer of upper layer protocol data units (PDUs), error correctionthrough automatic repeat request (ARQ) for AM data transfers, andsegmentation and reassembly of RLC SDUs for UM and AM data transfers.The RLC layer 503 may also maintain sequence numbers independent of theones in PDCP for UM and AM data transfers. The RLC layer 503 may also insome embodiments execute re-segmentation of RLC data PDUs for AM datatransfers, detect duplicate data for AM data transfers, discard RLC SDUsfor UM and AM data transfers, detect protocol errors for AM datatransfers, and perform RLC re-establishment.

The PDCP layer 504 may in some embodiments execute header compressionand decompression of IP data, maintain PDCP Sequence Numbers (SNs),perform in-sequence delivery of upper layer PDUs at re-establishment oflower layers, perform reordering and eliminate duplicates of lower layerSDUs, execute PDCP PDU routing for the case of split bearers, executeretransmission of lower layer SDUs, cipher and decipher control planeand user plane data, perform integrity protection and integrityverification of control plane and user plane data, control timer-baseddiscard of data, and perform security operations (e.g., ciphering,deciphering, integrity protection, integrity verification, etc.).

In some embodiments, primary services and functions of the RRC layer 505may include broadcast of system information (e.g., included in MasterInformation Blocks (MIBs) or System Information Blocks (SIBs) related tothe non-access stratum (NAS)); broadcast of system information relatedto the access stratum (AS); paging initiated by 5GC 120 or NG-RAN 110,establishment, maintenance, and release of an RRC connection between theUE and NG-RAN (e.g., RRC connection paging, RRC connectionestablishment, RRC connection addition, RRC connection modification, andRRC connection release, also for carrier aggregation (CA) and DualConnectivity (DC) in NR or between E-UTRA and NR); establishment,configuration, maintenance, and release of Signalling Radio Bearers(SRBs) and Data Radio Bearers (DRBs); security functions including keymanagement, mobility functions including handover and context transfer,UE cell selection and reselection and control of cell selection andreselection, and inter-radio access technology (RAT) mobility; andmeasurement configuration for UE measurement reporting. The MIBs andSIBs may comprise one or more information elements (IEs), which may eachcomprise individual data fields or data structures. The RRC layer 505may also, in some embodiments, execute QoS management functions,detection of and recovery from radio link failure, and NAS messagetransfer between the NAS 506 in the UE and the NAS 506 in the AMF 132.

In some embodiments, the following NAS messages can be communicatedduring the corresponding NAS procedure, as illustrated in Table 1 below:

TABLE 1 5G NAS 5G NAS 4G NAS 4G NAS Message Procedure Message nameProcedure Registration Initial Attach Request Attach Requestregistration procedure procedure Registration Mobility Tracking AreaTracking area Request registration Update (TAU) updating update Requestprocedure procedure Registration Periodic TAU Request Periodic Requestregistration tracking area update updating procedure procedureDeregistration Deregistration Detach Detach Request procedure Requestprocedure Service Service request Service Service request Requestprocedure Request or procedure Extended Service Request PDU Session PDUsession PDN PDN Establishment establishment Connectivity connectivityRequest procedure Request procedure

In some embodiments, when the same message is used for more than oneprocedure, then a parameter can be used (e.g., registration type or TAUtype) which indicates the specific purpose of the procedure, e.g.registration type=“initial registration”, “mobility registration update”or “periodic registration update”.

The UE 101 and the RAN node 128/130 may utilize an NG radio interface(e.g., an LTE-Uu interface or an NR radio interface) to exchange controlplane data via a protocol stack comprising the PHY layer 501, the MAClayer 502, the RLC layer 503, the PDCP layer 504, and the RRC layer 505.

The non-access stratum (NAS) protocols 506 form the highest stratum ofthe control plane between the UE 101 and the AMF 132 as illustrated inFIG. 5. In embodiments, the NAS protocols 506 support the mobility ofthe UE 101 and the session management procedures to establish andmaintain IP connectivity between the UE 101 and the UPF 134. In someembodiments, the UE protocol stack can include one or more upper layers,above the NAS layer 506. For example, the upper layers can include anoperating system layer 524, a connection manager 520, and applicationlayer 522. In some embodiments, the application layer 522 can includeone or more clients which can be used to perform various applicationfunctionalities, including providing an interface for and communicatingwith one or more outside networks. In some embodiments, the applicationlayer 522 can include an IP multimedia subsystem (IMS) client 526.

The NG Application Protocol (NG-AP) layer 515 may support the functionsof the N2 and N3 interface and comprise Elementary Procedures (EPs). AnEP is a unit of interaction between the RAN node 128/130 and the 5GC120. In certain embodiments, the NG-AP layer 515 services may comprisetwo groups: UE-associated services and non UE-associated services. Theseservices perform functions including, but not limited to: UE contextmanagement, PDU session management and management of correspondingNG-RAN resources (e.g. Data Radio Bearers (DRBs)), UE capabilityindication, mobility, NAS signaling transport, and configurationtransfer (e.g. for the transfer of Self-Organizing Network (SON)information).

The Stream Control Transmission Protocol (SCTP) layer (which mayalternatively be referred to as the SCTP/IP layer) 514 may ensurereliable delivery of signaling messages between the RAN node 128/130 andthe AMF 132 based, in part, on the IP protocol, supported by the IPlayer 513. The L2 layer 512 and the L1 layer 511 may refer tocommunication links (e.g., wired or wireless) used by the RAN node128/130 and the AMF 132 to exchange information. The RAN node 128/130and the AMF 132 may utilize an N2 interface to exchange control planedata via a protocol stack comprising the L1 layer 511, the L2 layer 512,the IP layer 513, the SCTP layer 514, and the S1-AP layer 515.

FIG. 6 is an illustration of a user plane protocol stack in accordancewith some embodiments. In this embodiment, a user plane 600 is shown asa communications protocol stack between the UE 102, the RAN node 128 (oralternatively, the RAN node 130), and the UPF 134. The user plane 600may utilize at least some of the same protocol layers as the controlplane 500. For example, the UE 102 and the RAN node 128 may utilize anNR radio interface to exchange user plane data via a protocol stackcomprising the PHY layer 501, the MAC layer 502, the RLC layer 503, thePDCP layer 504, and the Service Data Adaptation Protocol (SDAP) layer516. The SDAP layer 516 may, in some embodiments, execute a mappingbetween a Quality of Service (QoS) flow and a data radio bearer (DRB)and a marking of both DL and UL packets with a QoS flow ID (QFI). Insome embodiments, an IP protocol stack 613 can be located above the SDAP516. A user datagram protocol (UDP)/transmission control protocol (TCP)stack 620 can be located above the IP stack 613. A session initiationprotocol (SIP) stack 622 can be located above the UDP/TCP stack 620, andcan be used by the UE 102 and the UPF 134.

The General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) Tunneling Protocol for the userplane (GTP-U) layer 604 may be used for carrying user data within the 5Gcore network 120 and between the radio access network 110 and the 5Gcore network 120. The user data transported can be packets in IPv4,IPv6, or PPP formats, for example. The UDP and IP security (UDP/IP)layer 603 may provide checksums for data integrity, port numbers foraddressing different functions at the source and destination, andencryption and authentication on the selected data flows. The RAN node128/130 and the UPF 134 may utilize an N3 interface to exchange userplane data via a protocol stack comprising the L1 layer 411, the L2layer 412, the UDP/IP layer 603, and the GTP-U layer 604. As discussedabove with respect to FIG. 4, NAS protocols support the mobility of theUE 101 and the session management procedures to establish and maintainIP connectivity between the UE 101 and the UPF 134.

FIG. 7 is a block diagram illustrating components, according to someexample embodiments, able to read instructions from a machine-readableor computer-readable medium (e.g., a non-transitory machine-readablestorage medium) and perform any one or more of the methodologiesdiscussed herein. Specifically, FIG. 7 shows a diagrammaticrepresentation of hardware resources 700 including one or moreprocessors (or processor cores) 710, one or more memory/storage devices720, and one or more communication resources 730, each of which may becommunicatively coupled via a bus 740. For embodiments in which nodevirtualization (e.g., NFV) is utilized, a hypervisor 702 may be executedto provide an execution environment for one or more network slicesand/or sub-slices to utilize the hardware resources 700

The processors 710 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a reducedinstruction set computing (RISC) processor, a complex instruction setcomputing (CISC) processor, a graphics processing unit (GPU), a digitalsignal processor (DSP) such as a baseband processor, an applicationspecific integrated circuit (ASIC), a radio-frequency integrated circuit(RFIC), another processor, or any suitable combination thereof) mayinclude, for example, a processor 712 and a processor 714.

The memory/storage devices 720 may include main memory, disk storage, orany suitable combination thereof. The memory/storage devices 720 mayinclude, but are not limited to, any type of volatile or non-volatilememory such as dynamic random access memory (DRAM), static random-accessmemory (SRAM), erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM),electrically erasable programmable read-only memory (EEPROM), Flashmemory, solid-state storage, etc.

The communication resources 730 may include interconnection or networkinterface components or other suitable devices to communicate with oneor more peripheral devices 704 or one or more databases 706 via anetwork 708. For example, the communication resources 730 may includewired communication components (e.g., for coupling via a UniversalSerial Bus (USB)), cellular communication components, NFC components,Bluetooth® components (e.g., Bluetooth® Low Energy), Wi-Fi® components,and other communication components.

Instructions 750 may comprise software, a program, an application, anapplet, an app, or other executable code for causing at least any of theprocessors 710 to perform any one or more of the methodologies discussedherein. The instructions 750 may reside, completely or partially, withinat least one of the processors 710 (e.g., within the processor's cachememory), the memory/storage devices 720, or any suitable combinationthereof. Furthermore, any portion of the instructions 750 may betransferred to the hardware resources 700 from any combination of theperipheral devices 704 or the databases 706. Accordingly, the memory ofprocessors 710, the memory/storage devices 720, the peripheral devices704, and the databases 706 are examples of computer-readable andmachine-readable media.

FIG. 8 illustrates a flow of a V2X operation, in accordance with someembodiments. In some embodiments, the V2X operation may be a V2Xauthorization operation 800 implemented in one of the network systems100A or 100B, and may include operations performed by network entities(e.g., apparatuses in network entities) and UEs (e.g., vehicle UE) ofthe network systems 100A or 100B. For example, the flow of FIG. 8 caninclude signaling and/or messages transmitted between one or more of UE101, 102, 802, a base station (e.g., 111, 112, 128A/128B, 130A/130B)such as a 5G RAN 804, and a network entity (e.g., AMF 134, AMF 806, MME121, UDM 814, HSS 124). In some embodiments, UE 802 may the same orsimilar to UE 101 or 102, the 5G RAN 804 may be the same or similar toRAN 111, 112, 128, or 130, the AMF 806 may be the same or similar to AMF132, and the UPF 814 may be the same or similar to UPF 134. In certainembodiments, the operations performed by AMF 806 may also be performedby a MME, such as MME 121, and the operations performed by UPF 814 maybe performed by a HSS (e.g., HSS 124).

In some embodiments, UE 802, 5G RAN 804, AMF 806, and UDM 814 may beconfigured to operate within one of a standalone 5G network or acombined 4G network and 5G network (e.g., network 100A and network 100Bcombined). In such cases of a standalone 5G network, the 5G RAN 804 maybe a master RAN node configured to use a 5G Core Network (e.g., 5GC120). In such cases of a combined 4G and 5G network, the 5G RAN 804 maybe a master RAN node configured to use the 5GC, or the 5G RAN 804 may bea secondary RAN node configured to use an Evolved Packet Core (e.g., CN120). The 5G RAN 804 of the combined 4G and 5G network scenario may be ang-eNB or a gNB, both of which may be configured as a master or asecondary node.

In some embodiments, a UE 802 may encode V2X information for a V2Xoperation (e.g., within signaling for transmission by the UE'stransceiver circuitry) within signaling and/or messages to a networkentity (e.g., 5G RAN 804, AMF/MME 806). The V2X information can be usedfor a V2X authorization operation (e.g., as part of a registration,attach, service request, and/or registration update procedure) and theV2X information can be information included in an IE within a message,for example, any one of an Access Stratum (AS) message, a Non-AccessStratum (NAS) message, a tracking area update (TAU) request message, aregistration request message, or a service request message. In someembodiments, the registration request message can initiate an initialregistration with the network (e.g., standalone 5G system or combined5G/4G system) or initiate a registration update with the network (e.g.,TAU). For example, when a UE moves from one core network to another corenetwork (e.g., EPC to 5GC), the UE may perform part of a registrationprocedure that includes transmitting the registration request message toa network entity. In some aspects, when a UE moves from one core networkto another core network (e.g., 5GC to EPC), the UE may perform part of aTAU procedure and/or an attach procedure that includes transmitting aTAU request message and/or a registration request message to a networkentity.

The service request message can initiate an establishment of a secureconnection to the 5G or 5G/4G combined system (e.g., AMF, MME). Forexample, the UE can initiate a service request procedure by transmittinga service request message, to establish a communication link for the UEto transmit uplink signaling messages and/or user data.

In certain embodiments, such V2X information can include V2X capabilityinformation (e.g., a V2X capability indication) in a message to indicateto a network entity a capability of the UE 802 for V2X communicationsover an reference point, such as a PC5 reference point. The PC5reference point is the reference point between UEs that are configuredfor device-to-device communications (e.g., configured for ProximityServices, D2D discovery and communications). In some embodiments, the UE802 can include V2X information (e.g., V2X capability) in a message(e.g., request message 808) and/or signaling for a procedure includingany one of an initial registration procedure and/or attach procedure, aservice request procedure, a TAU procedure, a Xn based handoverprocedure, or a S1 based handover procedure.

In addition to indicating the capability of the UE 802 for V2Xcommunication over a PC5 reference point, the V2X information can alsoinclude an indication of a RAT for communication over the PC5 referencepoint, such as a E-UTRA RAT or a NR/5G RAT. The UE 802 can thenconfigure its transceiver circuitry (e.g., 306, 308, and 310 of FIG. 3)to transmit the request message 808 to the network entity, such as the5G RAN 804. In some embodiments, the 5G RAN 804 receives signaling fromthe UE 802, including the request message 808, and decodes the V2Xinformation and any other relevant information, from the request message808. In certain embodiments, a message from the UE 802 to the 5G RAN 804can comprise a NAS message.

The 5G RAN 804 can then transmit a request message 810 to a networkentity (e.g., AMF 806, MME), including the V2X information, which thenetwork entity (e.g., AMF 806) may use to determine authorization of theUE 802 for V2X communication and authorization of the UE to use the RAT(e.g., over the PC5 reference point for V2X communication). The requestmessage 810 may include similar or the same information as the requestmessage 808. In some embodiments, the request message 810 can includeV2X capability information and RAT information. In some embodiments, theAMF 806 receives and stores V2X information associated with the UE 802.From the received V2X information, the AMF 806 can make a determinationof whether the UE 802 is authorized to use V2X communication over thePC5 reference point and/or whether the UE is authorized to use the RATover the PC5 reference point for the V2X communication, based on certaininformation, for example, subscription information. The AMF 806 canobtain subscription information associated with the UE 802, in someembodiments, from signaling and/or a message (e.g., subscriptioninformation 816) from another network entity, such as the UDM 814 or aHome Subscriber Server (HSS).

Following a determination of whether the UE 802 is authorized for V2Xcommunications according to a RAT, based on the subscription informationor other information, the AMF 806 (e.g., or MME) can encode and transmitan authorization message 812 to the 5G RAN 804 to indicate whether theUE 802 is authorized for V2X communications over the PC5 referencepoint. The authorization message 812 can include information such as aV2X services authorization indication, to indicate whether the UE isauthorized to use V2X communication over the PC5 reference point, anindication of RAT information (e.g., E-UTRA RAT, NR RAT), and a UE PC5Aggregate Maximum Bit Rate (UE-PC5-AMBR) indication. In someembodiments, the authorization message 812 may be a N2 message or a S1(e.g., S1-AP) message. The determination of whether the UE 802 isauthorized for V2X communications according to a RAT may be determined,in part, according to the V2X capability indication that is included inthe request message 808 from the UE 802.

In some embodiments, the V2X information (e.g., V2X capability) may beused in a handover procedure, for example, in an Xn-based handoverprocedure, an S1-based handover, or a N2-based handover procedure. Forexample, in some embodiments, a source base station (e.g., 5G RAN 804)may be configured to include V2X information in a handover requestmessage for transmission to a target base station (e.g., a target 5GRAN), and may transmit the V2X information to the target 5G RAN in thehandover request message. In certain embodiments, the 5G RAN 804 mayhave determined that the UE 802 is authorized to use V2X communicationover the PC5 reference point based on the authorization message 812received from the AMF 806. Based on a determination of authorization forV2X communications by the UE 802, the 5G RAN 804 may encode signalingand/or a message for transmission to the target 5G RAN to include anyone or more of the V2X services authorized indication, the indication ofthe RAT (e.g., E-UTRA RAT, NR RAT), and the UE-PC5-AMBR indication. Incertain embodiments, the V2X services authorized indication may beincluded in a UE context, associated with the UE 802.

As part of a handover procedure, in some embodiments, the AMF 806 (e.g.,or MME) may use the V2X information (e.g., V2X capability). For example,the AMF 806 may be configured for a Xn-based handover procedure and mayencode (e.g., for transmission to a target base station, 5G RAN, eNB) amessage and/or signaling (e.g., a N2 Path Switch Request Acknowledgemessage) that includes the V2X services authorized indication. In someembodiments, the message may also include an indication of RATinformation (e.g., an indication of the authorized RAT), and theUE-PC5-AMBR indication.

In another example, the AMF 806 may be configured for a N2-basedhandover procedure and may encode (e.g., for transmission to a targetbase station, 5G RAN, eNB) a message and/or signaling (e.g., a N2-APhandover request message) that includes the V2X services authorizedindication, the indication of the RAT information (e.g., indication ofthe authorized RAT), and the UE-PC5-AMBR indication. In otherembodiments, as part of an Xn-based handover procedure, an MME mayencode (e.g., for transmission to a target base station, 5G RAN, eNB) amessage and/or signaling (e.g., a Path Switch Request Acknowledgemessage) that includes the V2X services authorized indication and theUE-PC5-AMBR indication.

In certain embodiments, a change in subscription information associatedwith the UE 802 may take place. In such embodiments, an updated to theV2X information may be appropriate. For example, a network entity (e.g.,AMF 806, MME) may determine that a change in subscription informationhas occurred. This may be detected based on a notification from one of aUDM or a HSS. In such case, the network entity can encode (e.g., fortransmission to a target base station, 5G RAN, eNB) a message and/orsignaling to include an update of information. For example, the AMF 806can encode and transmit to the target 5G RAN a N2-AP UE ContextModification Request message, that may include any one or more of anupdated V2X services authorized indication, an updated indication of theauthorized RAT, or an updated UE-PC5-AMBR indication. In otherembodiments, the network entity can encode a S1-AP UE ContextModification Request message that may include any one or more of anupdated V2X services authorized indication, an updated indication of theauthorized RAT, or an updated UE-PC5-AMBR indication.

FIG. 9 illustrates generally a flowchart of example functionalitieswhich can be performed in a wireless architecture in connection with V2Xauthorization, in accordance with some embodiments. Referring to FIG. 9,the example method 900 can start at operation 902, when signaling and/ora message including a V2X capability indication can be decoded. Forexample, a network entity (e.g., AMF 806, MME) can receive a requestmessage 810 including a V2X capability indication.

In some embodiments, the request message 810, including the V2Xcapability indication, may be a message similar to a request message 808encoded by a UE (e.g., UE 802) and transmitted to a base station, suchas the 5G RAN 804, to indicate a capability of the UE 802 for V2Xcommunications over a PC5 reference point. The 5G RAN 804 may transmitthe V2X capability indication to the AMF 806 in signaling and/or therequest message 810.

At operation 904, the network entity (e.g., AMF 806, MME) can determine,based on the received V2X capability indication, and any other relevantinformation, whether the UE 802 is capable of V2X communications overthe PC5 reference point, as well as whether the UE 802 is authorized forthe V2X communications over the PC5 reference point. In some embodimentsof the method 900, the AMF 806 may obtain information from anothernetwork entity, such as the UDM 814 (or HSS), to use in determiningwhether the UE 802 is authorized for the V2X communication. In certainembodiments, the information may be received by the AMF 806 in signalingand/or a message from the UDM 814, and may include subscriptioninformation 816.

At operation 906, the network entity (e.g., AMF 806, MME) can encode aV2X services authorization for transmission in a message to the 5G RAN804 to indicate whether the UE 802 is authorized for the V2Xcommunications over the PC5 reference point. In some embodiments, therequest message 808, or 810 may be any of a Non-Access Stratum (NAS)message, a tracking area update (TAU) request message, a registrationrequest message, or a service request message. In some embodiments, whenthe request message 808 transmitted from a UE is a registration requestmessage, the network entity can be configured to transmit a registrationaccept message to the UE to indicate an acceptance of the registrationrequest message (e.g., registration with the 5GS, combined 5GS/4GS).

Any of the operations 902-906 may be performed by any of the UEs and/ornetwork entities illustrated in the networks 100A and/or 100B shown inFIGS. 1A and 1B. For example, the UE 802, 5G RAN 804, the AMF 806 (orMME), and UDM 814 (or HSS) may receive or transmit signaling asdescribed in the method 900, and as described with respect to FIG. 8, aspart of any one or more of an initial registration procedure, an attachprocedure, a service request procedure, a tracking area update (TAU)procedure, a Xn based handover procedure, or a S1 based handoverprocedure.

FIG. 10 illustrates generally a flowchart of example functionalitieswhich can be performed in a wireless architecture in connection with V2Xauthorization, in accordance with some embodiments. Referring to FIG.10, the example method 1000 can start at operation 1002, when signalingand/or a message including a V2X capability indication can be decoded.For example, a network entity (e.g., AMF 806, MME) can receive a requestmessage 810 including a V2X capability indication. At operation 1004,the AMF 806 (or MME) may encode a message and/or signaling for ahandover procedure. The handover procedure may include a Xn basedhandover procedure, for example, in which the AMF 806 may encode an N2Path Switch Request Acknowledge message for transmission to a targetbase station (e.g., 5G RAN 804). In some embodiments, the AMF 806 mayencode the N2 Path Switch Request Acknowledge message to include any oneor more of a V2X services authorized indication, an indication of theauthorized RAT (e.g., E-UTRA RAT or a 5G RAN RAT), or a UE-PC5-AMBRindication.

In some embodiments, the handover procedure may include a N2 basedhandover procedure, for example, in which the AMF 806 may encode anN2-AP handover request message for transmission to a target base station(e.g., 5G RAN 804). In some embodiments, the AMF 806 may encode theN2-AP handover request message to include any one or more of the V2Xservices authorized indication, the indication of the authorized RAT(e.g., E-UTRA RAT or a 5G RAN RAT), or the UE-PC5-AMBR indication. Inother embodiments, the network entity of operation 1004 may be a MME(e.g., MME 121) and the MME 121 may be configured to encode, as part ofa Xn-based handover procedure, a Path Switch Request Acknowledge messagefor transmission to a target base station (e.g., 5G RAN 804, eNB). Insome embodiments, the MME 121 may encode the Path Switch RequestAcknowledge message to include any one or more of a V2X servicesauthorized indication, an indication of the authorized RAT (e.g., E-UTRARAT or a 5G RAN RAT), or a UE-PC5-AMBR indication.

In other embodiments, the method 1000 may be performed by a base station(e.g., 5G RAN 804) as part of a handover procedure (e.g., Xn-basedhandover procedure). For example, at operation 1002, the 5G RAN 804 maydecode the V2X capability indication from a message received from a UE(e.g., UE 802). As part of the Xn-based handover procedure, the 5G RAN804 may encode a handover request message for transmission to a targetbase station (e.g., a target 5G RAN). In some embodiments, the 5G RAN804 may have received a V2X services authorized indication, from anothernetwork entity (e.g., AMF 806, MME), indicating whether the UE isauthorized to use V2X communication over a PC5 reference point. Thehandover request message may include any one or more of the V2X servicesauthorized indication, an indication of an authorized RAT, and a UE PC5Aggregate Maximum Bit Rate (UE-PC5-AMBR) indication.

FIG. 11 illustrates a block diagram of an example machine 1100 uponwhich any one or more of the techniques (e.g., methodologies) discussedherein may be performed, for example, one or more efeMTC operations.Examples, as described herein, may include, or may operate by, logic ora number of components, or mechanisms in the machine 1100. Circuitry(e.g., processing circuitry) is a collection of circuits implemented intangible entities of the machine 1100 that include hardware (e.g.,simple circuits, gates, logic, etc.). Circuitry membership may beflexible over time. Circuitries include members that may, alone or incombination, perform specified operations when operating. In an example,hardware of the circuitry may be immutably designed to carry out aspecific operation (e.g., hardwired). In an example, the hardware of thecircuitry may include variably connected physical components (e.g.,execution units, transistors, simple circuits, etc.) including a machinereadable medium physically modified (e.g., magnetically, electrically,moveable placement of invariant massed particles, etc.) to encodeinstructions of the specific operation. In connecting the physicalcomponents, the underlying electrical properties of a hardwareconstituent are changed, for example, from an insulator to a conductoror vice versa. The instructions enable embedded hardware (e.g., theexecution units or a loading mechanism) to create members of thecircuitry in hardware via the variable connections to carry out portionsof the specific operation when in operation. Accordingly, in an example,the machine readable medium elements are part of the circuitry or arecommunicatively coupled to the other components of the circuitry whenthe device is operating. In an example, any of the physical componentsmay be used in more than one member of more than one circuitry. Forexample, under operation, execution units may be used in a first circuitof a first circuitry at one point in time and reused by a second circuitin the first circuitry, or by a third circuit in a second circuitry at adifferent time. Additional examples of these components with respect tothe machine 1100 follow.

In alternative embodiments, the machine 1100 may operate as a standalonedevice or may be connected (e.g., networked) to other machines. In anetworked deployment, the machine 1100 may operate in the capacity of aserver machine, a client machine, or both in server-client networkenvironments. In an example, the machine 1100 may act as a peer machinein peer-to-peer (P2P) (or other distributed) network environment. Themachine 1100 may be a personal computer (PC), a tablet PC, a set-top box(STB), a personal digital assistant (PDA), a mobile telephone, a webappliance, a network router, switch or bridge, or any machine capable ofexecuting instructions (sequential or otherwise) that specify actions tobe taken by that machine. Further, while only a single machine isillustrated, the term “machine” shall also be taken to include anycollection of machines that individually or jointly execute a set (ormultiple sets) of instructions to perform any one or more of themethodologies discussed herein, such as cloud computing, software as aservice (SaaS), other computer cluster configurations.

The machine (e.g., computer system) 1100 may include a hardwareprocessor 1102 (e.g., a central processing unit (CPU), a graphicsprocessing unit (GPU), a hardware processor core, or any combinationthereof), a main memory 1104, a static memory (e.g., memory or storagefor firmware, microcode, a basic-input-output (BIOS), unified extensiblefirmware interface (UEFI), etc.) 1106, and mass storage 1108 (e.g., harddrive, tape drive, flash storage, or other block devices) some or all ofwhich may communicate with each other via an interlink (e.g., bus) 1130.The machine 1100 may further include a display unit 1110, analphanumeric input device 1112 (e.g., a keyboard), and a user interface(UI) navigation device 1114 (e.g., a mouse). In an example, the displayunit 1110, input device 1112 and UI navigation device 1114 may be atouch screen display. The machine 1100 may additionally include astorage device (e.g., drive unit) 1108, a signal generation device 1118(e.g., a speaker), a network interface device 1120, and one or moresensors 1116, such as a global positioning system (GPS) sensor, compass,accelerometer, or other sensor. The machine 1100 may include an outputcontroller 1128, such as a serial (e.g., universal serial bus (USB),parallel, or other wired or wireless (e.g., infrared (IR), near fieldcommunication (NFC), etc.) connection to communicate or control one ormore peripheral devices (e.g., a printer, card reader, etc.).

Registers of the processor 1102, the main memory 1104, the static memory1106, or the mass storage 1108 may be, or include, a machine readablemedium 1122 on which is stored one or more sets of data structures orinstructions 1124 (e.g., software) embodying or utilized by any one ormore of the techniques or functions described herein. The instructions1124 may also reside, completely or at least partially, within any ofregisters of the processor 1102, the main memory 1104, the static memory1106, or the mass storage 1108 during execution thereof by the machine1100. In an example, one or any combination of the hardware processor1102, the main memory 1104, the static memory 1106, or the mass storage1108 may constitute the machine readable media 1122. While the machinereadable medium 1122 is illustrated as a single medium, the term“machine readable medium” may include a single medium or multiple media(e.g., a centralized or distributed database, and/or associated cachesand servers) configured to store the one or more instructions 1124.

The term “machine readable medium” may include any medium that iscapable of storing, encoding, or carrying instructions for execution bythe machine 1100 and that cause the machine 1100 to perform any one ormore of the techniques of the present disclosure, or that is capable ofstoring, encoding or carrying data structures used by or associated withsuch instructions. Non-limiting machine readable medium examples mayinclude solid-state memories, optical media, magnetic media, and signals(e.g., radio frequency signals, other photon based signals, soundsignals, etc.). In an example, a non-transitory machine readable mediumcomprises a machine readable medium with a plurality of particles havinginvariant (e.g., rest) mass, and thus are compositions of matter.Accordingly, non-transitory machine-readable media are machine readablemedia that do not include transitory propagating signals. Specificexamples of non-transitory machine readable media may include:non-volatile memory, such as semiconductor memory devices (e.g.,Electrically Programmable Read-Only Memory (EPROM), ElectricallyErasable Programmable Read-Only Memory (EEPROM)) and flash memorydevices; magnetic disks, such as internal hard disks and removabledisks; magneto-optical disks; and CD-ROM and DVD-ROM disks.

The instructions 1124 may be further transmitted or received over acommunications network 1126 using a transmission medium via the networkinterface device 1120 utilizing any one of a number of transferprotocols (e.g., frame relay, internet protocol (IP), transmissioncontrol protocol (TCP), user datagram protocol (UDP), hypertext transferprotocol (HTTP), etc.). Example communication networks may include alocal area network (LAN), a wide area network (WAN), a packet datanetwork (e.g., the Internet), mobile telephone networks (e.g., cellularnetworks), Plain Old Telephone (POTS) networks, and wireless datanetworks (e.g., Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)802.11 family of standards known as Wi-Fi®, IEEE 802.16 family ofstandards known as WiMax®), IEEE 802.15.4 family of standards,peer-to-peer (P2P) networks, among others. In an example, the networkinterface device 1120 may include one or more physical jacks (e.g.,Ethernet, coaxial, or phone jacks) or one or more antennas to connect tothe communications network 1126. In an example, the network interfacedevice 1120 may include a plurality of antennas to wirelesslycommunicate using at least one of single-input multiple-output (SIMO),multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO), or multiple-input single-output(MISO) techniques. The term “transmission medium” shall be taken toinclude any intangible medium that is capable of storing, encoding orcarrying instructions for execution by the machine 1100, and includesdigital or analog communications signals or other intangible medium tofacilitate communication of such software. A transmission medium is amachine readable medium.

Any of the radio links described herein may operate according to any oneor more of the following exemplary radio communication technologiesand/or standards including, but not limited to: a Global System forMobile Communications (GSM) radio communication technology, a GeneralPacket Radio Service (GPRS) radio communication technology, an EnhancedData Rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) radio communication technology,and/or a Third Generation Partnership Project (3GPP) radio communicationtechnology, for example Universal Mobile Telecommunications System(UMTS), Freedom of Multimedia Access (FOMA), 3GPP Long Term Evolution(LTE), 3GPP Long Term Evolution Advanced (LTE Advanced), Code divisionmultiple access 2000 (CDMA2000), Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD),Mobitex, Third Generation (3G), Circuit Switched Data (CSD), High-SpeedCircuit-Switched Data (HSCSD), Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem (Third Generation) (UMTS (3G)), Wideband Code Division MultipleAccess (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System) (W-CDMA (UMTS)),High Speed Packet Access (HSPA), High-Speed Downlink Packet Access(HSDPA), High-Speed Uplink Packet Access (HSUPA), High Speed PacketAccess Plus (HSPA+), Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem-Time-Division Duplex (UMTS-TDD), Time Division-Code DivisionMultiple Access (TD-CDMA), Time Division-Synchronous Code DivisionMultiple Access (TD-CDMA), 3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 8(Pre-4th Generation) (3GPP Rel. 8 (Pre-4G)), 3GPP Rel. 9 (3rd GenerationPartnership Project Release 9), 3GPP Rel. 10 (3rd Generation PartnershipProject Release 10), 3GPP Rel. 11 (3rd Generation Partnership ProjectRelease 11), 3GPP Rel. 12 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release12), 3GPP Rel. 13 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 13), 3GPPRel. 14 (3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 14), 3GPP Rel. 15(3rd Generation Partnership Project Release 15), 3GPP Rel. 16 (3rdGeneration Partnership Project Release 16), 3GPP Rel. 17 (3rd GenerationPartnership Project Release 17), 3GPP Rel. 18 (3rd GenerationPartnership Project Release 18), 3GPP 5G or 5G-NR, 3GPP LTE Extra,LTE-Advanced Pro, LTE Licensed-Assisted Access (LAA), MulteFire, UMTSTerrestrial Radio Access (UTRA), Evolved UMTS Terrestrial Radio Access(E-UTRA), Long Term Evolution Advanced (4th Generation) (LTE Advanced(4G)), cdmaOne (2G), Code division multiple access 2000 (Thirdgeneration) (CDMA2000 (3G)), Evolution-Data Optimized or Evolution-DataOnly (EV-DO), Advanced Mobile Phone System (1st Generation) (AMPS (1G)),Total Access Communication System/Extended Total Access CommunicationSystem (TACS/ETACS), Digital AMPS (2nd Generation) (D-AMPS (2G)),Push-to-talk (PTT), Mobile Telephone System (MTS), Improved MobileTelephone System (IMTS), Advanced Mobile Telephone System (AMTS), OLT(Norwegian for Offentlig Landmobil Telefoni, Public Land MobileTelephony), MTD (Swedish abbreviation for Mobiltelefonisystem D, orMobile telephony system D), Public Automated Land Mobile (Autotel/PALM),ARP (Finnish for Autoradiopuhelin, “car radio phone”), NMT (NordicMobile Telephony), High capacity version of NTT (Nippon Telegraph andTelephone) (Hicap), Cellular Digital Packet Data (CDPD), Mobitex,DataTAC, Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (iDEN), Personal DigitalCellular (PDC), Circuit Switched Data (CSD), Personal Handy-phone System(PHS), Wideband Integrated Digital Enhanced Network (WiDEN), iBurst,Unlicensed Mobile Access (UMA), also referred to as also referred to as3GPP Generic Access Network, or GAN standard), Zigbee, Bluetooth®,Wireless Gigabit Alliance (WiGig) standard, mmWave standards in general(wireless systems operating at 10-300 GHz and above such as WiGig, IEEE802.11ad, IEEE 802.11ay, and the like), technologies operating above 300GHz and THz bands, (3GPP/LTE based or IEEE 802.11p and other),Vehicle-to-Vehicle (V2V), Vehicle-to-X (V2X), Vehicle-to-Infrastructure(V2I), and Infrastructure-to-Vehicle (I2V) communication technologies,3GPP cellular V2X, DSRC (Dedicated Short Range Communications)communication systems such as Intelligent-Transport-Systems and others.

Embodiments described herein can be used in the context of any spectrummanagement scheme including, for example, dedicated licensed spectrum,unlicensed spectrum, (licensed) shared spectrum (such as Licensed SharedAccess (LSA) in 2.3-2.4 GHz, 3.4-3.6 GHz, 3.6-3.8 GHz and furtherfrequencies and Spectrum Access System (SAS) in 3.55-3.7 GHz and furtherfrequencies). Applicable exemplary spectrum bands include IMT(International Mobile Telecommunications) spectrum (including 450-470MHz, 790-960 MHz, 1710-2025 MHz, 2110-2200 MHz, 2300-2400 MHz, 2500-2690MHz, 698-790 MHz, 610-790 MHz, 3400-3600 MHz, to name a few),IMT-advanced spectrum, IMT-2020 spectrum (expected to include 3600-3800MHz, 3.5 GHz bands, 700 MHz bands, bands within the 24.25-86 GHz range,for example), spectrum made available under the Federal CommunicationsCommission's “Spectrum Frontier” 5G initiative (including 27.5-28.35GHz, 29.1-29.25 GHz, 31-31.3 GHz, 37-38.6 GHz, 38.6-40 GHz, 42-42.5 GHz,57-64 GHz, 71-76 GHz, 81-86 GHz and 92-94 GHz, etc), the ITS(Intelligent Transport Systems) band of 5.9 GHz (typically 5.85-5.925GHz) and 63-64 GHz, bands currently allocated to WiGig such as WiGigBand 1 (57.24-59.40 GHz), WiGig Band 2 (59.40-61.56 GHz), WiGig Band 3(61.56-63.72 GHz), and WiGig Band 4 (63.72-65.88 GHz); the 70.2 GHz-71GHz band; any band between 65.88 GHz and 71 GHz; bands currentlyallocated to automotive radar applications such as 76-81 GHz; and futurebands including 94-300 GHz and above. Furthermore, the scheme can beused on a secondary basis on bands such as the TV White Space bands(typically below 790 MHz) where in particular the 400 MHz and 700 MHzbands can be employed. Besides cellular applications, specificapplications for vertical markets may be addressed, such as PMSE(Program Making and Special Events), medical, health, surgery,automotive, low-latency, drones, and the like.

Embodiments described herein can also be applied to different SingleCarrier or OFDM flavors (CP-OFDM, SC-FDMA, SC-OFDM, filter bank-basedmulticarrier (FBMC), OFDMA, etc.) and in particular 3GPP NR (New Radio)by allocating the OFDM carrier data bit vectors to the correspondingsymbol resources.

EXAMPLES

Although an embodiment has been described with reference to specificexample embodiments, it will be evident that various modifications andchanges may be made to these embodiments without departing from thebroader spirit and scope of the present disclosure. Accordingly, thespecification and drawings are to be regarded in an illustrative ratherthan a restrictive sense. The accompanying drawings that form a parthereof show, by way of illustration, and not of limitation, specificembodiments in which the subject matter may be practiced. Theembodiments illustrated are described in sufficient detail to enablethose skilled in the art to practice the teachings disclosed herein.Other embodiments may be utilized and derived therefrom, such thatstructural and logical substitutions and changes may be made withoutdeparting from the scope of this disclosure. This Detailed Description,therefore, is not to be taken in a limiting sense, and the scope ofvarious embodiments is defined only by the appended claims, along withthe full range of equivalents to which such claims are entitled.

Such embodiments of the inventive subject matter may be referred toherein, individually and/or collectively, by the term “embodiment”merely for convenience and without intending to voluntarily limit thescope of this application to any single embodiment or inventive conceptif more than one is in fact disclosed. Thus, although specificembodiments have been illustrated and described herein, it should beappreciated that any arrangement calculated to achieve the same purposemay be substituted for the specific embodiments shown. This disclosureis intended to cover any and all adaptations or variations of variousembodiments. Combinations of the above embodiments, and otherembodiments not specifically described herein, will be apparent to thoseof skill in the art upon reviewing the above description.

In this document, the terms “a” or “an” are used, as is common in patentdocuments, to include one or more than one, independent of any otherinstances or usages of “at least one” or “one or more.” In thisdocument, the term “or” is used to refer to a nonexclusive or, such that“A or B” includes “A but not B,” “B but not A,” and “A and B,” unlessotherwise indicated. In this document, the terms “including” and “inwhich” are used as the plain-English equivalents of the respective terms“comprising” and “wherein.” Also, in the following claims, the terms“including” and “comprising” are open-ended, that is, a system, UE,article, composition, formulation, or process that includes elements inaddition to those listed after such a term in a claim are still deemedto fall within the scope of that claim. Moreover, in the followingclaims, the terms “first,” “second,” and “third,” etc. are used merelyas labels, and are not intended to impose numerical requirements ontheir objects.

The Abstract of the Disclosure is provided to allow the reader toquickly ascertain the nature of the technical disclosure. It issubmitted with the understanding that it will not be used to interpretor limit the scope or meaning of the claims. In addition, in theforegoing Detailed Description, it can be seen that various features aregrouped together in a single embodiment for the purpose of streamliningthe disclosure. This method of disclosure is not to be interpreted asreflecting an intention that the claimed embodiments require morefeatures than are expressly recited in each claim. Rather, as thefollowing claims reflect, inventive subject matter lies in less than allfeatures of a single disclosed embodiment. Thus the following claims arehereby incorporated into the Detailed Description, with each claimstanding on its own as a separate embodiment.

The following describes various examples of methods, machine-readablemedia, and systems (e.g., machines, devices, or other apparatus)discussed herein.

Example 1 is a computer-readable hardware storage device that storesinstructions for execution by one or more processors of a Base Station(BS) configured to operate within a fifth-generation system (5GS), theinstructions to configure the one or more processors to: configuretransceiver circuitry to receive signaling from a user equipment (UE),the signaling including a request message comprising avehicle-to-everything (V2X) capability indication, to indicate UEcapability for transmission and reception of V2X messages over a PC5interface, and Radio Access Technology (RAT) information to indicate aRAT for use in V2X communications over the PC5 reference point; andconfigure the transceiver circuitry to transmit the request message to anetwork entity; and decode, from signaling received from the networkentity, the signaling including one or more of a V2X servicesauthorization indication to indicate whether the UE is authorized to useV2X communication over the PC5 interface, an indication of the RATinformation, and a UE PC5 Aggregate Maximum Bit Rate (UE-PC5-AMBR)indication.

In Example 2, the subject matter of Example 1 includes, wherein the RATinformation indicates an Evolved Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) RAT when the UE is touse an E-UTRA RAT for V2X communications over the PC5 reference point,and wherein the RAT information indicates a New Radio (NR) RAT when theUE is to use a NR RAT for V2X communications over the PC5 referencepoint.

In Example 3, the subject matter of Example 2 includes, wherein the 5GSis a standalone 5G network and the BS is a master Radio Access Network(RAN) node, and wherein the instructions are to configure the one ormore processors to configure the RAN node to use a 5G Core Network(5GC).

In Example 4, the subject matter of Examples 2-3 includes, wherein theBS is one of a secondary radio access network (RAN) node or a master RANnode, wherein the instructions are to configure the one or moreprocessors to configure BS to operate within a combined 5GS andfourth-generation system (4GS), wherein when the BS is a secondary RANnode, the instructions are to configure the one or more processors toconfigure BS to use an Evolved Packet Core (EPC), and wherein when theBS is a master RAN node, the instructions are to configure the one ormore processors to configure BS to use a 5G core (5GC).

In Example 5, the subject matter of Examples 3-4 includes, wherein therequest message is a registration request message for registration ofthe UE with the 5GS, and wherein the instructions are to configure theone or more processors to configure the transceiver circuitry to receivethe signaling, including the request message, as part of an initialregistration procedure.

In Example 6, the subject matter of Examples 3-5 includes, wherein theBS is a source BS and wherein the instructions are to configure the oneor more processors to: configure the source BS for a Xn-based handoverprocedure, wherein as part of the Xn-based handover procedure, theinstructions are to configure the one or more processors to: encode ahandover request message, for transmission to a target BS, the handoverrequest message including one or more of a V2X services authorizedindication to indicate whether the UE is authorized to use V2Xcommunication over the PC5 interface, the indication of the RATinformation, and the UE-PC5-AMBR indication.

Example 7 is an apparatus of a user equipment (UE) configured forvehicle-to-everything (V2X) communication in a fifth-generation system(5GS), the apparatus comprising: memory; and processing circuitryconfigured to: encode a Non-Access Stratum (NAS) request message fortransmission to a network entity, the request message including a V2Xcapability indication, to indicate a capability of the UE for V2Xcommunication over a PC5 reference point, and Radio Access Technology(RAT) information to indicate a RAT for use by the UE in the V2Xcommunications over the PC5 reference point; and configure transceivercircuitry to transmit the request message to the network entity, andwherein the memory is configured to store the V2X capability indication.

In Example 8, the subject matter of Example 7 includes, wherein when theUE is to use an Evolved Universal Mobile Telecommunications SystemTerrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) RAT in V2X communicationsover the PC5 reference point, the processing circuitry is configured toencode the RAT information of the registration request message tocomprise an indication of a E-UTRAN RAT, and wherein when the UE is touse a New Radio (NR) RAT in V2X communications over the PC5 referencepoint, the processing circuitry is configured to encode the RATinformation of the registration request message to comprise anindication of a NR RAT.

In Example 9, the subject matter of Example 8 includes, wherein therequest message is a registration request message for registration withthe 5GS, wherein the processing circuitry is configured to encode theregistration request message as part of a registration procedure, theregistration procedure including one of an initial registration, or aregistration update, for the UE; and wherein the processing circuitry isconfigured to decode a registration accept message, received from thenetwork entity, the registration accept message indicating acceptance ofthe request message.

In Example 10, the subject matter of Examples 8-9 includes, wherein therequest message is a service request message to establish acommunication link for the UE, and wherein the processing circuitry isconfigured to encode the service request message as part of a servicerequest procedure.

In Example 11, the subject matter of Examples 8-10 includes, wherein theUE is configured for V2X communication in a combined 5GS andfourth-generation system (4GS), the processing circuitry is configuredto encode the request message as an attach request message, as part ofan initial attach procedure.

In Example 12, the subject matter of Example 11 includes, wherein theprocessing circuitry is configured to encode the request message as atracking area update (TAU) request message, as part of a TAU procedure,to update a tracking area of the UE.

Example 13 is an apparatus of a network entity configured to operatewithin a fifth-generation system (5GS), the apparatus comprising:memory; and processing circuitry configured to: decode a requestmessage, the request message including vehicle-to-everything (V2X)capability indication, to indicate a capability of a user equipment (UE)for V2X communication over a PC5 interface, and Radio Access Technology(RAT) information to indicate a RAT for use in the V2X communicationsover the PC5 reference point; and encode signaling for transmission to abase station (BS), the signaling including one or more of a V2X servicesauthorization indication to indicate whether the UE is authorized to useV2X communication over the PC5 interface, an indication of the RATinformation, and a UE PC5 Aggregate Maximum Bit Rate (UE-PC5-AMBR)indication, and wherein the memory is configured to store the V2Xcapability information.

In Example 14, the subject matter of Example 13 includes, wherein theRAT information indicates an Evolved Universal Mobile TelecommunicationsSystem Terrestrial Radio Access Network (E-UTRAN) RAT when the UE is touse an E-UTRA RAT for V2X communications over the PC5 reference point,and wherein the RAT information indicates a New Radio (NR) RAT when theUE is to use a NR RAT for V2X communications over the PC5 referencepoint.

In Example 15, the subject matter of Example 14 includes, wherein thenetwork entity is an Access and Mobility Management Function (AMF), andwherein the processing circuitry is configured to decode signalingreceived from a Unified Data Management (UDM) entity, the signalingincluding subscription information associated with the UE; and encodethe signaling for transmission to the BS based on a determination, fromthe subscription information, of whether the UE is authorized to use V2Xcommunication over the PC5 interface.

In Example 16, the subject matter of Examples 14-15 includes, whereinthe network entity is further configured to operate within a combined5GS and fourth-generation system (4GS), and wherein the processingcircuitry is configured to decode signaling received from a HomeSubscriber Server (HSS), the signaling including subscriptioninformation associated with the UE; and encode the signaling fortransmission to the BS based on a determination, from the subscriptioninformation, of whether the UE is authorized to use V2X communicationover the PC5 interface.

In Example 17, the subject matter of Examples 15-16 includes, whereinthe processing circuitry is configured to: configure the AMF for aXn-based handover procedure, wherein as part of the Xn-based handoverprocedure, the processing circuitry is configured to: encode a N2 PathSwitch Request Acknowledge message, for transmission to a target BS, theN2 Path Switch Request Acknowledge message including one or more of theV2X services authorized indication, the indication of the RATinformation, and the UE-PC5-AMBR indication.

In Example 18, the subject matter of Examples 15-17 includes, whereinthe processing circuitry is configured to: configure the AMF for a N2based handover procedure, wherein as part of the N2 based handoverprocedure, the processing circuitry is configured to: encode a N2-APhandover request message, for transmission to a target BS, the N2-APhandover request message including one or more of the V2X servicesauthorized indication, the indication of the RAT information, and theUE-PC5-AMBR indication.

In Example 19, the subject matter of Examples 14-18 includes, whereinthe request message is a registration request message for registrationwith the 5GS, and wherein the processing circuitry is configured toencode a registration accept message, for transmission to the UE, theregistration accept message indicating acceptance of the requestmessage.

In Example 20, the subject matter of Examples 15-19 includes, whereinthe processing circuitry is configured to: determine a change in thesubscription information; and encode, for transmission to a target BS, aN2-AP UE Context Modification Request message to include one or more ofan updated V2X services authorized indication, an updated indication ofthe RAT information, and an updated UE-PC5-AMBR indication.

Example 21 is at least one machine-readable medium includinginstructions that, when executed by processing circuitry, cause theprocessing circuitry to perform operations to implement of any ofExamples 1-20.

Example 22 is an apparatus comprising means to implement of any ofExamples 1-20.

Example 23 is a system to implement of any of Examples 1-20.

Example 24 is a method to implement of any of Examples 1-20.

1. (canceled)
 2. An apparatus of a user equipment (UE) configured forVehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication within a fifth-generationsystem (5GS), the apparatus comprising: processing circuitry; and memorycoupled to the processing circuitry, the processing circuitry configuredto: encode a registration request message for transmission to a 5GSnetwork entity as part of a registration procedure, the registrationrequest message encoded to include a PC5 capability for V2Xcommunication, the PC5 capability for V2X communication to indicatewhether the UE is capable of supporting V2X communication over a PC5reference point, wherein if the PC5 capability for V2X communicationindicates that the UE is capable of supporting V2X communication over aPC5 reference point, the PC5 capability for V2X communication furtherindicates one or more supported PC5 radio-access technologies (RATs) forV2X communication, wherein the one or more supported PC5 RATs for V2Xcommunication comprise a long-term evolution (LTE) RAT for V2Xcommunication over an LTE-based PC5 reference point and a new radio (NR)RAT for V2X communication over an NR based PC5 reference point, receiveauthorization from a policy control function (PCF) of the 5GS for V2Xcommunication over at least one of the PC5 reference points and for V2Xcommunication over a uU reference point; in response to theauthorization, the processing circuitry is to: configure the UE for V2Xcommunication with another UE over at least one of the LTE-based PC5reference point and the NR based PC5 reference point; and configure theUE for V2X communication with a next-generation radio-access network(NG-RAN) of the 5GS over the Uu reference point; communicate with theother UE over the PC5 reference point; and receive V2X communicationsover the uU reference point from the NG-RAN.
 3. The apparatus of claim2, wherein the authorization comprises an aggregate maximum bit rate(AMBR) per PC5 RAT (UE-PC5 AMBR), wherein communication with the otherUE over the PC5 reference point is capped based on the UE-PC5-AMBR, andwherein the memory is configured to store the UE-PC5-AMBR.
 4. Theapparatus of claim 2 wherein the processing circuitry is furtherconfigured to encode signalling to report the PC5 capability to the 5GCover an N1 reference point.
 5. The apparatus of claim 4 wherein theprocessing circuitry is further configured to decode signalling toreceive V2X parameters for V2X communication from the 5GC over the N1reference point.
 6. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the authorizationfrom the PCF is received in response to transmission of the registrationrequest message indicating the PC5 capability for V2X communication ofthe UE.
 7. The apparatus of claim 2 wherein the processing circuitry isfurther configured to: encode a tracking-area update (TAU) requestmessage for transmission, the TAU request message encoded by theprocessing circuitry to include: the PC5 capability for V2Xcommunication; an indication of whether the UE is requesting to use anNR based RAT for V2X communication over a NR-based PC5 reference pointor whether the UE is requesting to use an LTE based RAT for V2Xcommunication over an LTE-based PC5 reference point; and an active flag.8. The apparatus of claim 7, wherein the processing circuitry isconfigured to decode an indication of radio and S1 bearers that havebeen re-established for active bearer contexts in response to the activeflag in the TAU request message.
 9. The apparatus of claim 2, wherein inresponse to the authorization, the processing circuitry is to: configurethe UE for V2X communication with another UE over both the LTE-based PC5reference point and the NR based PC5 reference point.
 10. The apparatusof claim 2 wherein the processing circuitry comprises a basebandprocessor.
 11. The apparatus of claim 10 further comprising transceivercircuitry coupled to the processing circuitry, the transceiver circuitrycoupled to one or more antennas for millimeter wave communications. 12.A non-transitory computer-readable storage medium comprisinginstructions to configure processing circuitry of a user equipment (UE)for Vehicle-to-Everything (V2X) communication within a fifth-generationsystem (5GS), the instructions to configure the processing circuitry to:encode a registration request message for transmission to a 5GS networkentity as part of a registration procedure, the registration requestmessage encoded to include a PC5 capability for V2X communication, thePC5 capability for V2X communication to indicate whether the UE iscapable of supporting V2X communication over a PC5 reference point,wherein if the PC5 capability for V2X communication indicates that theUE is capable of supporting V2X communication over a PC5 referencepoint, the PC5 capability for V2X communication further indicates one ormore supported PC5 radio-access technologies (RATs) for V2Xcommunication, wherein the one or more supported PC5 RATs for V2Xcommunication comprise a long-term evolution (LTE) RAT for V2Xcommunication over an LTE-based PC5 reference point and a new radio (NR)RAT for V2X communication over an NR based PC5 reference point, receiveauthorization from a policy control function (PCF) of the 5GS for V2Xcommunication over at least one of the PC5 reference points and for V2Xcommunication over a uU reference point; in response to theauthorization, the processing circuitry is to: configure the UE for V2Xcommunication with another UE over at least one of the LTE-based PC5reference point and the NR based PC5 reference point; and configure theUE for V2X communication with a next-generation radio-access network(NG-RAN) of the 5GS over the Uu reference point; communicate with theother UE over the PC5 reference point; and receive V2X communicationsover the uU reference point from the NG-RAN.
 13. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the authorizationcomprises an aggregate maximum bit rate (AMBR) per PC5 RAT (UE-PC5AMBR), wherein communication with the other UE over the PC5 referencepoint is capped based on the UE-PC5-AMBR, and wherein the memory isconfigured to store the UE-PC5-AMBR.
 14. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 12 wherein the processingcircuitry is further configured to encode signalling to report the PC5capability to the 5GC over an N1 reference point.
 15. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 14 wherein the processingcircuitry is further configured to decode signalling to receive V2Xparameters for V2X communication from the 5GC over the N1 referencepoint.
 16. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim12 wherein the authorization from the PCF is received in response totransmission of the registration request message indicating the PC5capability for V2X communication of the UE.
 17. The non-transitorycomputer-readable storage medium of claim 12, wherein the processingcircuitry is further configured to: encode a tracking-area update (TAU)request message for transmission, the TAU request message encoded by theprocessing circuitry to include: the PC5 capability for V2Xcommunication; an indication of whether the UE is requesting to use anNR based RAT for V2X communication over a NR-based PC5 reference pointor whether the UE is requesting to use an LTE based RAT for V2Xcommunication over an LTE-based PC5 reference point; and an active flag.18. The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 17,wherein the processing circuitry is configured to decode an indicationof radio and S1 bearers that have been re-established for active bearercontexts in response to the active flag in the TAU request message. 19.The non-transitory computer-readable storage medium of claim 12, whereinin response to the authorization, the processing circuitry is to:configure the UE for V2X communication with another UE over both theLTE-based PC5 reference point and the NR based PC5 reference point. 20.An apparatus of generation Node B (gNB) configured for operating withina fifth-generation system (5GS), the apparatus comprising: processingcircuitry; and memory coupled to the processing circuitry, theprocessing circuitry configured to: decode a registration requestmessage received from a User Equipment for transmission to a 5GS networkentity as part of a registration procedure, the registration requestmessage encoded to include a PC5 capability for Vehicle-to-Everything(V2X) communication, the PC5 capability for V2X communication toindicate whether the UE is capable of supporting V2X communication overa PC5 reference point, wherein if the PC5 capability for V2Xcommunication indicates that the UE is capable of supporting V2Xcommunication over a PC5 reference point, the PC5 capability for V2Xcommunication further indicates one or more supported PC5 radio-accesstechnologies (RATs) for V2X communication, wherein the one or moresupported PC5 RATs for V2X communication comprise a long-term evolution(LTE) RAT for V2X communication over an LTE-based PC5 reference pointand a new radio (NR) RAT for V2X communication over an NR based PC5reference point, receive authorization from a policy control function(PCF) of the 5GS for V2X communication by the UE over at least one ofthe PC5 reference points and for V2X communication by the UE over a uUreference point; in response to the authorization, the processingcircuitry is to encode signalling for transmission to the UE, thesignalling to: authorize the UE for V2X communication with another UEover at least one of the LTE-based PC5 reference point and the NR basedPC5 reference point; and authorize the UE for V2X communication with anext-generation radio-access network (NG-RAN) of the 5GS over the Uureference point; and encode V2X communications for transmission over theuU reference point to the UE from the NG-RAN, wherein the gNB is part ofthe NG-RAN.
 21. The apparatus of claim 20, wherein the authorizationcomprises an aggregate maximum bit rate (AMBR) per PC5 RAT (UE-PC5AMBR), wherein communication with the other UE over the PC5 referencepoint is capped based on the UE-PC5-AMBR, wherein the processingcircuitry is further configured to decode signalling from the UE thatindicates the PC5 capability of the UE over an N1 reference point, andwherein the processing circuitry is further configured to decodesignalling comprising V2X parameters for V2X communication by the UEfrom the 5GC over an N2 reference point.